How Did It Come To This?
by ShadowChocobo
Summary: Discontinued.
1. Prolouge: Honoes, scientists?

Prologue: Honoes, scientists?

"...Where did you find this?"

"In the Northern Crater."

"How long ago?"

"A few hours ago."

"...Thank you. You can leave now." The scientist said briskly to the two children standing in front of him. They exchanged glances then looked back at him, not budging. "Hey mister!" Piped up the girl. "Is it worth anything?" The scientist shot her a calculating look, then answered "That remains to be seen." "What is it?" The boy asked. "Lindsay said it was a piece of turtle shell, but I told her she was stupid because there are no turtles this far north, and Holy wiped out everything living in the crater when it passed through anyway." "Nuh-uh! I bet it is a turtle shell! From...a rare undiscovered species of turtle that can live in cold weather!"

"You're stupid!"

"I know what you are but what am I?"

"Stupid!"

"Jerk!"

"Moron!"

"Mamma's boy!"

"QUIET!"

The children abruptly stopped their squabbling and looked at the scientist sheepishly, who was glaring at them from over his desk. "I appreciate that you brought this to me, but do you know what would make me even more happy?" The children shook their heads silently. "If you would be so kind as too leave. _Now_." He continued to glare at them until they hurriedly scampered out the door, letting in a draft of cold air and a few flakes of snow before it closed behind them. He muttered something inaudible about 'children' and 'spoiled brats' before returning to the thing before him.

He and a few other curious scientists had come to the Icicle Inn village to study the Northern Crater, and figure out some of the mysteries of Jenova, or 'The Crisis of the Skies' as the Centra referred to her. They had found nothing. Those inconsiderate 'heroes' had no clue what they had done by killing it. Years and years of scientific studies, gone! His predecessors had learned next to nothing about the creature in the time they had had it, and the scientific community would never learn anything more about it.

Or so it had seemed.

He pulled his glasses out of his breast pocket and put them on, turning over the thing the children had brought him in his hands. It did almost look like a piece of turtle shell, but it was too soft, and more bumpy. Almost like...skin?

The man jumped out of his seat and ran to the back, pulling out a high-powered microscope and scraping a quick sample of the shell-like object and looking at in under the microscope. He took out the only records of the JENOVA Project that still survived from a nearby filing cabinet. They had been salvaged from the Shinra Mansion soon after the fall of Shinra, for their 'protection'. He took a quick look at Jenova's cell structure from the old records, then looked at the sample before him. A gleeful smile spread across his face and he raised his arms in the air, letting out a small "Whoot!" before jumping to his feet and quickly grabbing the nearest phone.


	2. Chapter 1: The start of an adventure!

Chapter One: The start of an adventure! Again!

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Cloud rolled over and looked at the clock on his nightstand with a groan. It was ten in the morning. He sat up and ran a hand through his spikey blond hair, wondering what had woken him up. He had a schedule set up now:

Sleep in until 12:00, or maybe even 1:00.

Mope around for the rest of the day.

Go to sleep at some un-godly hour.

You see, a month after defeating Sephiroth and Jenova, our hero wasn't doing so well. Now that he didn't have anything to occupy himself, he was left with entirely too much time to brood over recent events. He had returned to Costa Del Sol, and to 'Villa Cloud' (he swore revenge on his friends for naming it that), where he had been ever since. The whole gang had gone their separate ways...Tifa to Midgar so that she could rebuild the Seventh Heaven, Barret settled down in Kalm with his daughter Marlene, Cid returned to Rocket Town where he and Shera had started a serious relationship (Cloud had the feeling that any children Cid produced would be the most foul-mouthed in the continent), Red XIII (or Nanaki) had returned to Cosmo Canyon as it's guardian, Vincent had departed for parts unknown, Yuffie returned to Wutai, and Reeve had volunteered to help the few survivors in Midgar rebuild their lives.

KNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCK--!

"ALRIGHT! Jesus Christ, keep your pants on..." Cloud growled, getting to his feet and stumbling to the door. He opened it, and shielded his eyes from the sunlight which obscured his view.

"HiCloudheycanIcrashhereforafewdaysIgotinafightwithdadandy'know,sowhaddyasay!" An all too familiar annoyingly sweet voice chirped in one very quick sentence. Cloud sighed and closed his eyes, as if not seeing her would make her disappear. "...Could you please repeat that...slowly?" He asked, opening his eyes again to see the slim form of sixteen-year-old Yuffie Kisaragi in the doorway, decked out in full ninja attire. At least, ninja attire as Yuffie saw it. She frowned. "Can I crash here for a few days? I got in a fight with dad, you know how he is." Actually, he didn't. Cloud hardly knew the man. "...You traveled...all the way from Wutai...just because of a fight with your father?" Cloud asked incredulously. "Yup! Because you've got a sweet pad, man." Yuffie replied, shoving past him and scuttling towards the guest room.

"W-wait--!" Cloud began, but then he shook his head and gave up. Once she had gotten in, there wasn't going to be any way to dislodge her until she decided to leave on her own. Damn crafty ninjas. "I hope you get sunburn in the worst place possible!" He yelled after her. She entered the guest bedroom and closed the door as if she hadn't heard him. He shook his head again and tromped off to his bedroom, hoping that he could get back to sleep. He reached for the doorknob--

--_I'm watching you._

Cloud jumped and looked around in surprise. There was no one there, and Yuffie was still in her room. _I've gotta start getting more sleep..._ He thought, taking one more quick look around just to make sure there was nobody there, then entering the room and closing the door behind him. He collapsed on the bed and tried to get comfortable. He could hear Yuffie unpacking in the guest room (which was right next to his), which she somehow managed to do while making the most noise possible. Despite that, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

"What the...?" Cloud said out loud, looking around. He was in some sort of lab or something, judging from the equipment lying around. The place seemed oddly familiar. He looked off to his left and froze. The whole north end of the room was a huge library...he looked to his right, and his dread was confirmed. There where test tubes lining the south wall. This was the secret lab under Shinra Mansion, where he had spent the most loathsome five years of his life, luckily most of which he couldn't remember. Shivers ran up and down his spine as he looked from one tube to the next. They appeared empty...except for one. He took a few steps closer. There was something in the tube to the far right, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. He continued approaching it until he realized that the glass was fogged up. He walked up to it and rubbed his gloved hand against the glass and peered into it.

_So the puppet returns before it's master could even pull it's strings?_

Cloud reeled back in silent horror, and the creature inside the tank stared back at him, emitting an aura of pure glee at his alarm.

_You didn't really think you'd be rid of me, did you? I cannot die. Now, be a good little boy and come get me out of this tiresome prison._

"N-no..." Cloud stuttered weakly, backing up until his back hit a bookcase.

_Heh...amusing. You seem to forget who is in charge here, my dear. Wake up!_

Cloud feel to his knees, holding his ears to try to block out the incessant buzzing sound that had suddenly filled his head. A red haze started to obscure his vision. "I...killed...you..." He forced out. The creature just laughed--

"Hey Cloud! Where do ya keep the food?" Yuffie asked loudly, bursting into his room and waking him up. He bolted upright and looked around wildly, as if expecting someone to be there. "...What's the matter?" Yuffie asked, her good mood dropping a few notches. "...Nothing." Cloud said finally, shaking his head as if to clear it of something. "What did you say?" "I'm starving! Where's the food!" Yuffie asked again, her enthusiasm bouncing back in an instant. Cloud climbed out of bed and yawned. "Uh...down the hall, to your right. The kitchen isn't that big though, so don't eat everything in one sitting." Yuffie frowned. "What would make you think I'd do that?" "I've seen the way you eat." Cloud replied dryly. "Haha." Yuffie shot back, heading out the door and leaping up into the air to disappear dramatically, one of her ninja tricks.

_...Wait a second..._ Cloud thought slowly. _I don't have any roof beams that she can cling onto, so how did she--_ His thoughts where interrupted by a loud THUD followed closely by a muffled "Ouch." He smirked in spite of himself.

"Oh yeah, it was _really funny._" Yuffie spat out venomously, which only made Cloud laugh harder. They where sitting in the living room, and Yuffie was sporting a black eye. Yuffie picked up a nearby throw pillow and chucked it at Cloud's head, but he ducked and it hit the wall harmlessly. "You have to admit Yuffie..." Cloud began as soon as he could breathe. "From my vantage point, it was funny as hell. You know, this is the most fun I've had since butchering Sephiroth and Jenova." Immediately after saying this, a violent pain ripped through his head and he grabbed it on reflex. "...Cloud? Are you alright?" Yuffie asked with genuine concern. "...I'm fine." Cloud replied stiffly. "I think I'm just going to go outside and get some fresh air..." He hurriedly jumped out of his seat and rushed out the front door.

_What is going on!_ He thought, leaning against the wall of the arch near the villa. _It's nothing. It can't possibly be that...thing. I killed it, along with Sephiroth. I watched it die. No, I'm just paranoid is all. Nothing to worry about...I'm fine. Jenova is dead. Everything is hunky-dory. The end._

Even to him the explanation sounded feeble.

_But honestly, that thing can't be alive, after getting slaughtered by The Knights of the Round summon. I mean, getting the crap beat out of you by thirteen separate monsters in a row..._ He felt slightly better with this logical explanation, but it still didn't ease his anxiety. He looked out at the beach, where the sun was beginning to set, making it seem as if there was a golden path over the water to the fabled court of the sun god. _Aeris would have loved to see this..._ He could see her running down the beach, looking at the sunset with an almost childish joy. "Cloud! You have to see this sunset! It's beautiful!" She'd say, grabbing his hand and dragging him off to watch it, smiling that smile that always lit up her brilliantly green eyes--

_Stop it Cloud._ He thought sternly. He couldn't think about her. Whenever he did, he'd get depressed and withdrawn. Of course, it didn't really help that almost everything made him think of her. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Hey Cloud! Get in here, you have to see this!" Yuffie yelled out the door, making him jump. He obediently came back inside, where Yuffie had the TV on. She looked over her shoulder at him. "Somethin' is going down at the Shinra Mansion." Cloud froze at the mention of the place's name, and his eyes fixed on the TV screen where a bored looking newscaster was standing in Cloud's hometown, Nibelhiem.

"...I'm here on the scene where studies have resumed at the Shinra Mansion, which had been scheduled for demolition early next month to rid this town of the bad memories associated with it's dark past as people have started to move back in, and the Shinra workers employed in a massive cover-up scheme have been driven out of town. We aren't exactly sure what is going on, but it seems like some men in lab coats have been seen moving equipment into the Mansion. When questioned about their actions, they declined to comment about their work, stating that it was "Of a very sensitive and secret nature, and that the public would be better off keeping their noses out of it."

"We aren't sure who has funded this, but it seems like the building has been saved from destruction, and is now heavily guarded by hired soldiers who have managed to keep the curious towns people away by threatening to "Blow their goddamn brains out if they didn't stop pestering them." Has someone paid to have the studies of the Shinra continued? Is there some sinister motive behind this? We may never know. This had been Jennie Hawkins, KBSC, Chocobo news. Back to you John."

The news switched to some man behind a desk who started to talk about how The Golden Saucer's sales where plummeting due to the Ruby Weapon's continued appearance in the desert, and Yuffie turned to look at Cloud. "Wow. Think we need to investigate? The Mansion I mean, not the Gold Saucer." Cloud didn't reply.

_This...can't be right._ He thought. _Jenova is DEAD. DEAD!_ He heard hushed laughter, and looked around, but didn't see anyone--

"Earth to Cloud!" Yuffie yelled, snapping Cloud out of his thoughts. He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. "...What?" He asked confusedly. She rolled her eyes. "Do you think we should go check it out? Better yet, why don't we call up the gang and see what they think of it?" Yuffie suggested. "...Yeah, sure. Whatever." Cloud replied vaguely. Yuffie rolled her eyes again and yanked out her PHS, her fingers quickly punching in Tifa's number first.

"So then I says, I says to him "You'd better back off, I've had a crappy day!"" Said one of the drunks at the bar dramatically, nearly knocking over his beer with a wild hand gesture. His buddy, equally drunk, seemed enthralled in his story. "No shit? Then what?" He asked. Tifa sighed and sat down on her stool behind the bar boredly. Listening to drunks tell their exaggerated tales to each other day ofter day got mind-numbingly boring, even though 'The Seventh Heaven' had only been opened for business a week ago. She had paid good money to get the building finished within two weeks, and it was now the only building currently standing. The barflies flocked to it like an oasis in a desert, but today had been a slow day.

A ringing sound at her belt made her jump, and she realized it was her PHS. She quickly un-clipped in and flipped it open, happy for any distraction from her boredom. "Hello?" She chirped, making the drunks at the counter shoot her a glare for interrupting their conversation.

"Tifa? It's Yuffie." Rang out Yuffie's annoying voice on the other end of the phone. "Listen, I've got some important news..." She quickly recounted what she and Cloud had seen on the news, then waited for Tifa's reaction. "...You've got to be kidding me." She said finally, making the drunks glare at her again and leave the bar in a huff. "Nope!" Yuffie replied cheerfully, then added in an undertone "And Cloud's been acting funny. I mean, more funny then usual. I don't think it's that important, but I just thought I'd give you a heads up before you got out here or whatever." "...Gotcha." Tifa replied, hiding her concern. "I'll get ahold of Barret, and possibly Vincent, if he still has his PHS with him. You get Cid and Nanaki." "What about Reeve?" Yuffie asked. "He's officially retired from adventures." Tifa answered. "Well, I've gotta call Barret and Vincent. Talk to you later." She clicked the phone shut before Yuffie could start another conversation.

"So much for boring." She commented dryly before flipping the phone open once more.

"Hurry the $& up!" Cid barked to Barret and Tifa, whom where the last people he had to pick up. "Christ, I'm getting too #&$ old for this shit." He pulled a cigarette out of the pack clamped firmly in his goggles and lit it. Tifa and Barret exchanged knowing glances and got on The Highwind. "We missed you too Cid." Tifa said sweetly. "Yo Cid." Barret greeted him gruffly as Cid started up the airship. "How's it goin' with Shera?" "Oh, she's pissing and moaning about my smoking and drinking, what else is new?" Cid grumbled. "Now shut the #$ up, I'm trying not to crash this damn thing. It's never been the same since Holy $&& it up." Tifa and Barret took the hint and moved off to the back where everyone else was.

"Greeting Tifa, Barret." Vincent said as soon as he saw them, inclining his head slightly. "It's pleasant to see you both again." "'Pleasant'?" Barret snorted. "What about 'nice' or 'great'?" Vincent merely blinked, and shrugged dismissively. "Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed, pouncing on him and pulling him into a bone-crunching hug. "H-hello Tifa." Cloud gasped out. "Can you please let me breathe?" Tifa let him go, but a smile remained fixed on her face. "How are you! Oh, it's been ages since I've seen you last--" "A month." Cloud corrected her. "But yeah, I missed you too." Tifa momentarily turned her attention to the animal lying on the floor not too far away that looked like a cross between a lion and a wolf. "Red! It's so great to see you! Or do you prefer to be called Nanaki now?" Red stood up and walked over to Tifa, his tail waving slightly. "It doesn't matter what you call me, my friend. I'm glad to see everyone too. Although I was reluctant to leave Cosmo Canyon unguarded in light of such events..."

"Am I being ignored!" Yuffie exclaimed from where she was leaning over the railing, trying to control her airsickness. "Nah, we jus' didn't wantcha to open yer mouth, since Cid might kill ya if ya puke on his ship." Barret replied. Everyone cracked up, and for once Yuffie wasn't able to retort due to a wave of airsickness. "So, how long until we reach Nibelheim?" Cloud asked. "Approximately thirty minutes, less if Cid enables the rockets." Vincent calculated. "Hey Vincent, where were you?" Tifa asked. "Nobody told me. I don't think anyone knew." Vincent was silent a moment then said quietly "I was visiting Lucrecia's cave." There was an awkward silence, then they heard Cid holler: "I'm turning the !&$# rockets on for the rest of the way, this is taking too damn long. I haven't got all $#& day to run around checking out old abandoned buildings. Here we go--!"

The airship lurched violently, then hurtled forward with enough force to send everyone tumbling off to one side of the room. "Wow. Do you think he could have given us a bit of a warning?" Tifa asked, pulling herself to her feet. Yuffie looked very green in the face and quickly ran over to the railing, leaning over it and losing her lunch. "Great. Now Cid is going to axe murder us for letting Yuffie barf on his ship." Cloud said. "I mean spear murder us. Have you ever heard of spear murdering?"

"We're here!" Cid called. "And about #$!& time!"


	3. Chapter 2: Over the river

Chapter Two: Over the river and through the woods...

"You are never, _ever_, riding my airship again, ya little brat. You can walk back to Wutai, or wherever the hell your going." Cid glowered as they entered Nibelhiem, having just spent thirty minutes cleaning up Yuffie's mess. "I'm never having kids. NEVER." "It's not my fault, you ass." Yuffie shot back. "_You _where the one who just _had_ to turn on the rockets to get us here in the blink of an eye, even though you _knew_ that I have motion sickness. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't like getting sick? 'No, Yuffie did it deliberately just to $# up my day--'" "Aw, jus shuddap, the both a' ya!" Barret growled. "All ya'll ever do is bicker..."

Cloud tuned everyone else out as they argued, something he had learned to do within minutes of first meeting everyone, and having them all in the same room. He looked around the town. It wasn't the same town he remembered growing up in...but it wasn't blatantly fake like when Shinra had tried to cover up the Nibelhiem incident. It just seemed so odd, seeing all the different people here, instead of the ones he remembered. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't make the place feel like home. Nowhere felt like home to him anymore. _So why don't you mope about it?_ He thought sharply. _If you're quite done wallowing in self pity, I think we came here for a reason._ His eyes flicked over to the Shinra Mansion, clearly visible on the outskirts of town. _But did I really come here because I wanted to?_ A small voice nagged at the back of his head. _You may _think_ you did, but you made the same error in thinking that you where the one chasing down Sephiroth, when in fact he wanted you to follow him all along. Did I really come here to see if Jenova survived...or to help her? What if I'm just going crazy?_

_Hard to tell the difference, my pet?_ A voice interrupted his thoughts suddenly. He didn't jump as he had before though, he was getting used to this. He ignored her and turned to the rest of the group, all of which (aside from Red and Vincent of course) where now involved in a heated argument. "I think we should start towards the Mansion now!" He yelled over their squabbling. "Yeah, let's get this crap over and done with. My shows are gonna be on in an hour." Cid agreed, tromping off. "...'Shows'?" Yuffie inquired. Cid ignored her. Cloud motioned for everyone to follow him and started after Cid. "You move pretty fast for someone who should have died ten times over from lung cancer by now." Cloud said as soon as he caught up to him. "Shut the !& up Cloud." Cid spat back. "I can still whoop your sorry ass with one leg and arm hacked off." "...Can you do the same with those guards?" Cloud asked, slowing to a halt as they saw the two men guarding the gate with machine guns.

"Seems like an awful lot of trouble just to guard a science lab." Tifa said, catching up. "You got materia with you?" Cloud asked her. "Of course! I'm not suicidal, you know. Even if I'm a great martial artist, I can't do a thing against machine guns. Or any firearms for that matter, unless I sneak up on the people in question." "Do you think it wise to just barge in there?" Red asked, padding into view, "There could be endless amounts of guards in there, and they probably won't be too happy if we just seriously injured or killed two of their comrades to gain entrance." Everyone was silent for a moment, then Tifa snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Alright, now you guys get as close to the Mansion as possible while still staying out of sight." She said, pulling out a materia. "Tifa, what--" "Go on! Don't worry, it's an idiot proof plan." She said with a smile. "I'll be fine, if I somehow manage to screw this up then I deserve to be shot. Shoo!" And with that she gave Cloud a forceful shove in the direction of the Mansion and started to focus the materia she held in her hand.

Everyone did as she said and got up close to the Mansion, then hid in some bushes where they watched Tifa. The guards hadn't yet noticed her, or the green aura that began to surround her which could only mean one thing: the materia was starting to take effect. Suddenly about fifty feet away a group of bushes caught on fire, and the guards rushed off to try to put it out. Tifa slipped the materia back into her pocket with a smile and ran through the now unguarded gate, the rest of the group following close behind. "Nice one Tifa!" Yuffie whispered. "...What materia is that?" "A mastered fire materia, and no, you can't have it." Tifa answered. Yuffie frowned but kept silent as they quietly pushed open the doors of the Mansion and entered. As soon as they where in the door, it closed behind them for no apparent reason. It didn't startle them. They'd been here before. Cloud took a few cautious steps forward, on the lookout for any of the stray monsters that had started to breed here when it was abandoned, and for guards, but it didn't seem as if anyone was there.

Cloud signaled the all-clear, and they started forward through the darkness. All was still, even the dust that blanketed the floor seemed undisturbed. They continued up one flight of stairs, then another, then went off to the right and entered the first room they saw. Cloud lead the way over to the wall where the secret passage was hidden, and after pushing a few bricks the wall slid open to reveal a rickety old wooden staircase spiraling down into oblivion. "It must have been a major pain in the ass to get all that heavy scientific equipment down those stairs." Yuffie observed. Cloud took a step forward--

--_Now is the time. Come free me._

Cloud nearly lost his balance and had to lean on the wall for support after the sudden mental assault. "Cloud? What's wrong?" Tifa whispered from behind him. "Nothing." He replied calmly, getting back to his feet and continuing down the staircase as if nothing had happened. Everyone exchanged glances and followed warily. After a few minutes of walking they reached the bottom of the staircase, and entered a short hallway that ended in an old wooden door. Off to the left was the room where they had first found Vincent sealed away in a coffin. There where small piles of human and animal bones strewn about the floor, but the party ignored them (except for Yuffie, who let out a small yelp when she nearly stepped on a human skull) and continued on to the door at the end. Cloud reached it first and opened it, poking his head in and looking around, then saying "Alright, no body's here. They must have gone home early or something." He opened the door all the way and entered.

Everyone filed in behind him, and looked around at the new equipment that had been brought down to the old laboratory, but Cloud's gaze remained fixed on one point in the room: the tank farthest to the right. Just like in his dream, there was something there...

_It's time._

Without even realizing it, Cloud started walking towards the tube. He felt strangely detached from it all, as if he weren't really there, that it wasn't really him who was walking, that he wasn't seeing out of his own eyes. He didn't feel anything either, just a strange aloofness. He finally reached the tube, and as he had in his dream, he rubbed his hand on the window to see through he fog, exposing Jenova's face. He took a step backwards and looked at the glass thoughtfully, then started to slowly unsheathe the Ultima Weapon strapped to his back. One well aimed swing should do the trick.

"Cloud, what are you doing?" Tifa's voice rang out curiously.

"Nothing Tifa." He replied coolly, swinging the sword up over his head to bring it down with enough force to break the glass...but before he could do so, he paused, having heard the distinct 'Click!' of a gun being cocked. He slowly swung his head around to see Vincent standing behind him, the Death Penalty drawn and aimed straight at Cloud's head. "Are you going to kill me Vincent?" He asked innocently, not letting the sword drop. "That depends." Vincent replied. "Do you plan on freeing Jenova?"

_Yes._

"Of course." Cloud replied matter-of-factly. "Then I have little choice. Between one life, and the lives of all who live on this planet...but I don't want to kill you, Cloud. So maybe if you could just get away from the tank..." Vincent suggested. "Vincent! Don't!" Tifa exclaimed, tugging on his sleeve. "Y-you can't kill him!" "Of course he can." Cloud said. "After all, killing is second nature to a Turk, and someone harboring Chaos." Vincent's face twitched at the mention of the monster's name. "An Ex-Turk, thank you." Vincent shot back coldly, quickly regaining his composure. "Cloud...remember when you asked us to come with you and help you, to keep you from doing something horrible after you nearly killed Aeris?"

The sword wouldn't have dropped from Cloud's hands faster if it had been a venomous snake. "W-what?" He stuttered. "You remember, don't you? You nearly killed Aeris as she prayed for Holy in the Forgotten Capital, but Tifa and Barret stopped you just in time. Since you couldn't finish the job, Sephiroth disposed of her for you." Vincent said coldly, deliberately trying to sound harsh. Cloud's hands shook. "I couldn't save her...she smiled at me, just before..."

_That matters little now. You must free me, that is the only goal here. **Do. It. Now.**_

The last three words struck him more powerfully then anything yet, and in one quick movement he picked up his sword and swung it against the glass as hard as he could. It shattered. In a matter of seconds Jenova was out of the tube and gone from the room, presumably having changed into something small enough to escape unnoticed. Everyone stared at Cloud, and Vincent put the Death Penalty back in his holster with a sigh. In truth, he probably could have killed him before he broke the glass, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not that he'd ever tell anyone. Tifa walked up to Cloud, touching his arm lightly. "...Cloud?" She asked tentatively. He blinked as if just waking up, and looked down at the sword in his hand, then the shattered tube, and his friends staring at him with silently accusing looks. "...What did I do?" He asked, looking up at Tifa pleadingly. "I didn't...did I? She didn't...?"

Tifa took the sword out his his hand (no easy feat, due to it's size) and set it on a nearby desk. "It's alright...we'll take care of it." She looked over at everyone sternly. "Won't we?" Everyone nodded their silent approval. "Here we go again." Yuffie said in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood. Nobody smiled. Cloud remained fixed on the spot. "...She did it again." He said sullenly. "How did she survive?" He began to make his way through the room, stumbling slightly. "Where are you going?" Tifa asked. "Away from here. It reminds me too much of my true purpose." Cloud replied coldly. "An' what the hell would that be?" Barret asked. Cloud turned to look back at him, a crooked smile on his face. "To be a pawn. A puppet. Yes...those where her exact words, after Aeris died...'because you are...a puppet.'" He turned back around and started back up the staircase, laughing in an unsettling way.

"I don't think he should be alone." Vincent whispered to Tifa, who nodded. "Yeah, I know. Can you imagine, though? What it must be like...?" "I'm surprised he's remained sane." Vincent replied shortly. Tifa frowned deeply at this thought, and started up the staircase. It was silent for a moment, then they heard Tifa let out a yelp of surprise, gunfire, then Tifa came bolting through the door and closed it behind her, panting. "Oh shit, we forgot about the guards." Cid spat, tossing away his cigarette (which he had somehow lit in the span of time that Tifa had been gone). He already had the Venus Gospel in his hand, although where it had been before now nobody could say. "There's at least ten of them!" Tifa gasped out. "They must've heard the commotion down here..." Barret cocked his gun arm. "Well? What the hell are we waitin' for? That door ain't gonna keep them out for long, and there ain't another way outta here." Yuffie paled, but nevertheless pulled out her Oritsuru and took a position near the door. Tifa was near the rear with her materia at the ready, Red was next to Yuffie, ready to pounce on anyone coming through the door, and Vincent waited, gun in hand, for the slightest sign of movement.

Silence.

Suddenly a harsh whistling rent the air, followed by a crackling, then all was still again. Tifa slowly moved over to the door and opened it a crack, peeking out. She saw Cloud near the bottom of the stairs, holding the Ultima materia in his hand. "Did I get 'um?" He asked Tifa. She opened the door all the way and looked around, but didn't see anything but ten separate charred spaces on the ground. "Uh...yeah. I think you did." Tifa replied slowly. "Good! Hurry and get out here before--"

Click!

Cloud turned to the side and saw a guard holding a handgun, aiming it at him. Cloud quickly reached behind his back for the Ultima Weapon, and his gloved hands scrambled in the air a moment before he realized that it was still in the lab, on the desk. _Wow. I must look really stupid right now._ He thought before ducking as a bullet whizzed passed where his head had been just a second ago. He grabbed the man's arm before he could fire again and twisted his wrist, making him drop the gun with a yelp of pain. "Not very experienced, are you?" Cloud asked coolly. The man struggled to get away, but Cloud just held him tighter. "Are there any more mercenaries around?" He questioned. "No, I was the last one!" The man answered, sounding slightly nervous. Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Your lying."

At that moment someone leaped down from the staircase above, landing gracefully one the stairs next to Cloud. He twirled a metal nightstick between his hands with practiced ease, and had just raised it to strike when he suddenly stopped, getting a closer look at who it was. "You have _got_ to be kidding me!" He said loudly, letting the nightstick fall to his side and tossing his red ponytail over his shoulder. "_You're_ the ones who broke in here?" "And you're the ones who were hired to watch the place?" Cloud shot back, equally surprised. Reno smiled and shrugged. "Money's tight, y'know, and the Turks aren't as popular as they used to be." Rude soon appeared behind him after descending the stairs, and Elena was behind him, standing on her tip-toes to try to get a look at the hold up. "Well, can't say this wasn't a cheery reunion an' all, but I've got a job to do." Reno said, flicking a switch on his nightstick. "So, if you'll just toss that guy aside we can get on with this."

"...Hey, Reno..." Rude interrupted quietly. "Why would they be here? Maybe you should give him a chance to talk?" Reno shot a glare over his shoulder, silencing his friend. "I doesn't matter why they're here, that fact is that they _are_ here and our job is to take care of any intruders." He turned back around to find that Cloud had already reached the bottom of the stairs, having left his bewildered prisoner on the stairs behind him. "Hey!" Reno exclaimed, leaping over the railing to catch up with him. Rude wasn't too far behind, and Elena, after taking a look at the drop, decided it would be more safe to go down the stairs the old fashioned way.

Cloud re-entered the laboratory, and ran past his bewildered friends who had been watching the whole thing. He reached the desk and grabbed his sword, turning around to see the Turks entering the room. "Aw crap, everyone is here." Reno said, skidding to a halt as he saw the group. "Usually you only bring two other people with ya." He glanced around the room, then saw the broken test tube. "Dammit! That's gonna come out of our paycheck!" "Do you know what was in there?" Cloud asked them slowly. "It doesn't matter what was in there! All that matters is ya broke it!" Reno said, his temper rising. "It's hard enough to find work when you guys aren't running around screwing up our jobs--" "They had Jenova in there!" Cloud interrupted.

Reno blinked, then roared with laughter. "What! That creepy alien thing? What the hell are you on? Ya killed it a while back!" "Apparently not." Vincent commented. "We saw it ourselves!" Yuffie added, bouncing to get the Turk's attention. "...If this were true," Rude said, crossing his arms. "Then why would you let it out?" Cloud's face darkened. "I'll explain it later. For now you've got to believe us when we say that she's loose, and the world's in danger." Reno rolled his eyes. "Jeez, seems like the world's in danger every other day. Okay, lets say that, just for a moment, I might believe your story, which I don't. We still can't let ya go, we have our orders. And as I said earlier, money's tight." "So your gonna take on the seven of us?" Cid snorted.

Reno looked around the room, taking in the enemy. Barret, with a machine gun arm, Vincent the sharp-shooter who could have probably killed them all by now if he thought it necessary, Cloud with his gigantic sword, Yuffie with her...was that a paper crane? Red...well, he had claws and teeth, and he was good at using them; Tifa was a great martial artist, who was also packing materia should she need it, and of course Cid with his spear. The odds definitely weren't in the Turks favor. Cid had a point. Three enemies where one thing...seven was another.

"...Well...uh..." Reno struggled to find a graceful way to retreat. "Reno. What if they're telling the truth?" Rude asked. Reno frowned. "Aw, it's all bullshit, you know that Rude." "But we can't be sure." Elena piped up for the first time. "I mean, we never did see the Jenova creature here, but that doesn't make their story a lie. Our employers never told us anything." "Your believing this too!" Reno exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in defeat. "...Well, I guess I'm out voted. Where are you going and what do you guys plan on doing?" "And why should we tell you?" Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because, if we're gonna let you guys go, we've gotta go somewhere else. If we stay here, we'll get whatever pay we've already received taken away and such. I'm thinkin' we can come with you guys, since your gonna be ruining our careers anyway, as long as you pay for everything."

Cloud hesitated, then said "We don't know yet. We're just going to try to find Jenova."

_But why do you want to find her? Is it to stop her, or to--_

"Will there be bars on the way?" Reno asked, interrupting Cloud's thoughts.

"...More then likely."

"Alright! It's settled, we're coming with you guys!" Reno said, switching his nightstick off and slipping it into his belt. "...I mean, as long as it's alright with my colleagues here, who've so blindly placed their trust in you." Reno said wryly. "I don't care." Rude said with a shrug, and Elena frowned. "You just want to go so you can leech off of them, Reno! That's not polite, and you don't know what your getting us into--" "Elena." Reno said, placing an arm around her shoulder. "Have I ever gotten us into trouble I couldn't get us out of?" "Well...no..." Elena replied slowly. "It's settled then!" Reno said, letting go of her. "We're going to fight the creepy alien thing!"

"Is this wise?" Vincent asked Cloud quietly. "They can't be any more of a danger to us then I am." Cloud said darkly. Vincent silently agreed. "Let's get the $& out of here already. This place is givin' me the willies." Cid huffed, lighting a cigarette and starting out the door. "Yeah, lets go." Cloud agreed, and everyone exited the lab.


	4. Chapter 3: Cloud doesn't do wolves

Chapter Three: Cloud doesn't do wolves.

"Wow!" Reno exclaimed as he and the other Turks entered the airship. "I have ta admit Cid, you sure do know which ships to steal!" Cid made a rude gesture at him, then reached under the panel, pulling out a bucket and handing it to Yuffie. "What...?" She asked curiously. "I'm goin' back to Rocket Town, so I can tell Shera what's up." Cid said, starting to flip switches and push buttons on the control panel. "And I plan on gettin' there as soon as possible, so if you puke, puke in that." Yuffie turned a little green just thinking about it and ran off to the back. "I have to hand it to you Cid, you sure do know how to shut her up." Tifa commented with a smile. "Cid? Are there even enough rooms in yer house for all a' us?" Barret asked. "...Naw, but you guys can stay the night at the $#!& inn or somethin'." "You're so hospitable." Red said quietly, his tail swishing in annoyance.

"Hey! Would ya rather try to all fit into the one #$& spare bedroom in the house? I thought not." Cid snapped back. "Oh, by the way, hang on to something." With that the Highwind shot into the air, sending everyone, for the second time, flying across the room. Cid snorted with laughter. "Dammit Cid! Quit doing that!" Tifa exclaimed, pulling herself out from under Red. "Tch! You wrinkled my suit." Reno said disapprovingly, standing up and straightening out his suit before helping Elena to her feet. Vincent had, somehow, maintained his balance and stood in the center of the room, the smallest of smiles flickering across his face as he watched his friends struggle to their feet.

"Alright, we're there!" Cid said after a moment, and everyone immediately clutched to something nearby. Surprisingly, the airship landed so smoothly they wouldn't have noticed, if they couldn't see out of the huge observation window in the front. "...This highly amuses you, doesn't it?" Cloud asked Cid scathingly. Cid just smiled.

"WHAT!" Shera screeched, making Cid take an involuntary step back. "I-it's not a bad as you think!" Cid explained hurriedly. "We're just going to save the world again, I mean, we did okay last time...don't worry. We'll be fine." "YOU COME IN HERE, TELL ME THAT YOUR GOING ON AN ADVENTURE TO KILL AN EVIL ALIEN CREATURE, AND YOUR TELLING ME NOT TO WORRY! WHAT THE _HELL_ IS WRONG WITH YOU! YOU COULD BE _KILLED!_" Shera exclaimed loudly enough that the who neighborhood could probably hear. Cid smiled weakly and pulled a pink materia out of his pocket, flashing it in front of her. "Well...I've got my luck plus materia. Heh." Shera just stared at him, speechless. "Don't worry! I'll be fine! No alien monster is gonna kill _me._ Besides," He said, taking a drag off of his cigarette. "I have everyone else with me, and it'll be pretty damn hard for anything to takle all of us." "Don't smoke in the house." Shera snapped, snatching the cigarette out of his hand and stomping off.

"She took it better then I thought she would." Cloud said. He and everyone else had been hovering by the door, waiting for Cid to finish. "You know what Cloud? You can go shove it up your ass. I'm gonna go off and see if I can fix this..." With that Cid walked down the hall and knocked on the bedroom door lightly. "Shera?" He asked sheepishly. "YOU INSENSITIVE BASTARD! I'M CHANGING THE LOCKS WHILE YOUR GONE!" Shera roared back. "But it's my house!" Cid exclaimed. "YOU'D BETTER HOPE THAT THING KILLS YOU, BECAUSE IF YOU COME BACK HERE WHAT I'LL DO TO YOU WILL PALE IN COMPARISON!" Cid grimaced and walked back into the living room.

"Well...uh...I think it'd be best to just leave her alone for a while." Cid said quietly, and sat down on the couch. "It looks like I'll be spending the night at the inn too. Or the bar. Whichever." "Cid, are you feeling alright? You haven't been saying $# after every other word." Tifa asked in mock concern. Cid shot her a glare. "Shera...doesn't like me to curse in the house. Or smoke in the house. Or drink in the house. Or play poker in the house." Barret snorted. "What's so funny?" Cid snapped. "Oh, nuthin'. It's jus that she used ta be the subservient one around here." Cid flipped him off and stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go off to the bar. Hopefully it'll give Shera enough time to calm down enough for me to talk to her without getting the living crap beat out of me." "Great! Count me in!" Reno said, bouncing up off of the couch at once, and Rude soon followed suit.

"So let me get this straight..." Tifa began. "...You're going to go to the bar, then come back here drunk and expect her to be calm?" Cid ignored her and went out the door, Reno and Rude trailing behind.

Cid stumbled into the inn around 1:00. Reno and Rude had already returned before him, so that he could talk to Shera privately. "So, how'd it go?" Tifa asked smugly, already knowing the answer. "...I'm gonna have ta buy a new $#& door." Cid grumbled. "Huh? Why?" Tifa inquired. "...I dunno, she chucked somethin' big at the bedroom door when I tried to talk to her, the wood's all cracked, and the door nearly flew offa it's hinges." "Ouch." Reno commented from the couch, where he was still, amazingly (considering the amount of alcohol he had ingested) awake.

"So when are we leaving in the morning?" Elena asked. "Around 6:00." Vincent replied, standing off in a corner. "We'll be headed toward the Icicle Inn and the Northern Crater first, seeing as that's the last place she was seen alive before this. Perhaps we can find out how she survived, or some clues as to where she is." "Yeesh, that early?" Yuffie whined. "We'd better get some rest." Cloud said, getting up and stretching, then wandering down the hall to his room. Everyone else exchanged good-nights and started off to their respective rooms.

Cloud closed the door behind him with a sigh, glad to be away from everybody else. His eyes scanned the dark room, making out the dark outline of the bed along the wall, a dresser on another, and some pictures hanging in between. It wasn't much, but it was better then trying to stay at Cid's place.

_Pathetic. Did they really think that I'd go back to the Crater so soon? Or that they'd find out where I went? The idiocy of humans never ceases to amaze me. It's like you're begging for extinction._

Cloud clenched his eyes shut and shook his head, as if it would make her go away. _You got what you wanted. You're free. You don't need me anymore._ He thought.

_Quite the contrary. I still have plans for you, my pet. _

_You really think I'm going to do what you say?_ Cloud thought, trying to ignore her and sitting down on the edge of his bed.

_No. At least if you had any say in it...which you don't. You just haven't gotten it through your head yet. That's alright, there'll be plenty of time for you to learn._

_Tough talk for someone who uses someone else to do all their work._ Cloud thought back scathingly. _If you are really as powerful as you act, then why not go out and do it yourself?_

_Because...it's not nearly as fun as watching you struggle, like a mouse that the cat has by the tail._ And with that she was gone. Cloud shuddered involuntarily and climbed under the covers, trying to fall asleep.

Cloud stood on the platform, the sword raised above his head. His arms shook slightly as he looked down at the girl before him, her head bent down in prayer, not noticing his presence. He starting to swing the sword down--

"Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed. "What the hell are ya doin'?" Barret roared.

Cloud stopped the sword just before it hit and shook his head, taking a step back. "Ugh...what are you making me do?" He asked nobody in particular. Aeris looked up for the first time and, seeing Cloud, smiled happily. Suddenly something leaped from the ceiling, barreling down towards her. Cloud tried to move, to speak, but he couldn't. Aeris was still smiling when the sword pierced through her midsection. Her eyes widened in shock, and Sephiroth smoothly pulled the sword out of her back, letting her fall forward. Cloud caught her before she hit the ground, holding her close as she drew her final breath, then slackened in his grip. "Aeris!" He cried, shaking her. "This can't be real!"

"Do not worry. Soon this girl will become part of this planet's energy." Sephiroth said, slipping his kantana back into it's sheath. "All that is left if to go North. The 'Promised Land' waits for me over the snowy fields." He raised his arms up into the air and leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling. "There I will become a new being by uniting with the planet. As will this girl..."

"Shut up." Cloud hissed, looking down at Aeris's still face, a small smile still fixed on it. He looked back at Sephiroth, emitting pure hatred. "The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing. Aeris is gone. Aeris will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry...or get angry..." He pulled her closer to him, holding back tears. "What about us...what are WE supposed to do! What about my pain!" He shook, whether with rage or sadness, he didn't know. "My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!"

Sephiroth slowly lowered his arms and looked at Cloud curiously. "What are you saying? That you have feelings too?" Cloud laid Aeris gently on the ground and jumped to his feet. "Of course! Who do you think I am!" Sephiroth stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Ha! Stop acting as if you were sad. There's no need to act as if you're angry either." Sephiroth started to float about seven feet off the ground, still looking highly amused. "Because, Cloud. You are..." He shot up into the air, leaving Cloud staring up after him, confused.

_Because, you are...a puppet._

Cloud's eyes shot open, and darted around the room before confirming that he was in a room at the Rocket Town inn. He ran a hand through his hair and sat up.

_Get up. It's time you started putting my plans in motion._

Cloud swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up as instructed, an odd ringing in his ears. He grabbed the Ultima Weapon, which was leaned against the wall, and strapped it onto his back. He opened the door a crack and poked his head out, looking around. No one was there. He stepped out of the hall and started off--

"A little late to be taking a walk."

Cloud turned around to see two crimson eyes staring at him intently through the darkness. "It never is Vincent." He replied. "In fact, it's the best time. Don't you think?" Vincent's eyes narrowed and he took a step closer to Cloud, making more of him visible. "...With your sword?" Cloud glanced over his shoulder at the large sword strapped on his back, and shrugged. "...Don't toy with me Cloud. I'm not stupid. Just get back in your room." Vincent said, taking a step to the side and clearing the path to his door. Cloud didn't budge. "It's obvious that Jenova has been trying harder to manipulate you then in the past, since you are now the last living person carrying her cells. You can't run off alone in the middle of the night." "Not true." Cloud stated coolly. "Nanaki also has Jenova cells, although a very small and less concentrated amount, since Professor Hojo wasn't sure how they'd react to him and he didn't want one of his prized specimens to die. But that's beside the point." Cloud turned around and continued on towards the door.

"Cloud..." Vincent began, but he stopped when he noticed Cloud shift slightly, and saw that he had a materia in his hand. It started to glow slightly before Vincent dove to the side, a dozen spears of ice narrowly missing him. By the time he looked up, Cloud was already gone. Vincent jumped to his feet and burst out the door, looking around, but it was no use.

Cloud was nowhere in sight.

"He WHAT!" Tifa exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. "We've gotta go after him! We have to find him before--" "Calm down Tifa." Vincent said soothingly. "I'm sure we'll find him in time. But first we have to figure out _where_ exactly he was heading. "...So that's how that thing got out." Reno said slowly, shaking his head. "Damn. That's just...damn." "We should ask around town first." Elena said. "I'll help do that." "I've gotta go tell Shera what's up...again. I think she'll be slightly less pissed off at me if she knows that I'm going to help a friend." Cid said, lighting a cigarette. "And of course you all know that I'm going to be providing the services of the Highwind to help find him."

"Jus' wait till I find him." Barret growled. "I'll knock some sense in ta his white spikey-headed ass." "And I'll steal his materia! You know...so that he's no longer...a threat to himself. Yeah." Yuffie said, smiling innocently.

"...So, how'd it go?" Tifa asked, leaning against the wall of Cid's house after thirty minutes of questioning people (hey, it's a small town). "Meh. A little better. At least now she's not threatening to change the locks while I'm gone." Cid grumbled, stepping outside. "What about you? Find out anything?" Tifa sighed and shook her head. "Not a thing. The others may have had more luck then me, though. We just have to wait for them." "No need." Red said quietly, padding up. "I couldn't find his trail. He must have been trying really hard to cover his tracks." Soon everyone returned with the same abysmal report, until Yuffie finally hopped back, looking pleased with herself.

"Hehe! I asked around the bar, and some guy getting home late last night saw a medium sized guy with spikey blond hair and a huge sword heading South in a hurry." "South?" Vincent asked sharply. "Then he's going to loop around the North Corel mountains and go to Costa Del Sol, from there he can catch a ship and head back to Junon, then use the Submarine to get to the Northern Continent..." "Shit!" Cid exclaimed. "C'mon then, we've gotta get to the Highwind and try to catch up with him before he gets too far." In the blink of an eye, everyone was dashing off to the Highwind, parked dutifully in the field just outside of Rocket Town, so as to avoid charring people to a crisp with the rockets.

Cid flipped switches and pressed buttons, cursing the whole time. "We can't turn the $#&# rockets on, because we could pass right over him and never know it. Goin' on foot, he couldn't have gotten far, probably only made it to the Nibelheim area by now...it shouldn't take too long to find him."

Cloud slowed to a stop. He thought he had heard rustling in the grass near him. He reached behind him to grab his sword, but he was too slow. Out of nowhere two light tan wolves suddenly burst out of the tall grass in front of him, hair bristled. Two others quickly appeared behind him, cutting off his exit. He waited a moment, and when they didn't move he drew his sword and swung on the nearest wolf, who quickly dodged out of the way and, seeing and opening, darted forward and ripped into Cloud's right arm. Cloud dropped the sword and flinched in pain, then punched the wolf as hard as he could with his left hand, making it let go of him for a moment.

Suddenly he heard gunfire, and one of the wolves in front of him went flying, it's body riddled with bullets. The other wolf, before it had time to react, had it's throat sliced open by a...metal paper crane? Cloud looked off to the side, and saw his friends running over, quickly beating off the wolves. He forgot how quietly the airship could run when Cid wanted it to. "Oh my god, Cloud!" A familiar voice called, and Tifa grabbed his injured arm, which looked like something had just taken a massive bite out of it. Which something had.

Cloud turned his head to her confusedly as she pulled out a restore materia.

_There! She isn't expecting it! Kill her!_

Cloud shook his head and grabbed it with his free arm. _But..._

_Do it! Kill her!_

"There...I think I fixed it. That's what you get for running around out here alone." Tifa said, putting away her restore materia and smiling. "Come on, let's get out of here." She tugged on Cloud's arm. He didn't budge. She turned around and looked at him, seeing that he had his eyes closed and was looking down, shaking slightly. "...Cloud?" Tifa asked, taking a step towards him, not sure how to react. He opened his eyes and looked up at her with cold indifference. Nobody else noticed, since they were busy dispatching the last of the wolves, who were faster and smarter then the first two. Cloud bent down and picked up his sword, the hilt still wet with his blood.

Tifa quickly jumped back. "Ah! Cloud! Don't!" Her back hit a tree, which she had unfortunately backed into. Cloud swung the sword--

"Cloud, stop!" Someone exclaimed, grabbing his arm. He looked over and saw, to his surprise, Yuffie, who also looked surprised at her own daring. He looked between Yuffie and Tifa, then took a quick step back. Tifa let out a sigh of relief and relaxed.

_Pathetic..._ Jenova hissed, but left for the time being.

Cloud put his face in his hands, shaking. "I nearly did it again..." He choked out. "I could have killed you. All of you. And not have known it. And it's not going to stop...it'll never stop..." "Cloud..." Tifa began, but he didn't seem to hear her. "It'll never stop...until one of us is dead..." Suddenly, before Tifa could stop him, Cloud tightened his grip on his sword and turned it around, stabbing it through his gut. His knees buckled and he heard someone screaming his name before losing consciousness.


	5. Chapter 4: Angst? What angst?

Chapter Four: Angst? What angst?

Cloud opened his eyes, and they slowly adjusted to bright light in the room. He looked around and realized with a start that he was on the Highwind, laying on the only couch in the lounge. "Cloud!" Tifa called, noticing him wake up and immediately pulling him into a tight hug. She quickly let him go and fixed him with a glare, and he braced himself for the shouting that was sure to ensue.

"WHAT WOULD POSSES YOU TO DO THAT!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, waving her arms in the air dramatically. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU WOULD BE THAT _STUPID!_ NEVER, _EVER_, TRY ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN OR I'LL RIP OUT YOUR TONGUE AND STRANGLE YOU WITH IT! DO YOU HAVE _ANY_ IDEA HOW WORRIED WE WHERE! HOW WORRIED _I_ WAS! HUH! DID YOU EVEN _THINK_ ABOUT US! OR HOW WE WOULD REACT! 'NO, I'M GOING TO WALLOW IN MY SELF PITY, OH WOE IS ME, I'LL JUST KILL MYSELF BECAUSE THAT'LL MAKE IT ALL BETTER'!" She stopped to catch her breath, and Cloud saw her eyes starting to well up with tears. She pulled him into another hug, then said quietly "You're the biggest goddamn moron on the planet, you know that?"

"...Tifa," Cloud said, pulling away and looking away from her face. "I nearly killed you. Do you understand? Nearly. Killed. You." "But it wasn't your fault..." Tifa began. "Yes it was. I think, at some level, I knew what I was doing. I just...didn't try to stop it. Like I was there, but wasn't." Cloud said dejectedly. He sighed and sat up, and was surprised when he didn't feel any pain in his stomach. He lifted up his shirt and saw that the wound was completely gone. "Did someone use a restore materia on me?" He asked confusedly. Even if they had, with such a serious wound there would be some trace of it left.

Tifa fidgeted and looked at the floor. "Well...we didn't really need to..." Cloud snapped his gaze over to her and his eyes narrowed. "What?" He asked sharply. Tifa ran a hand through her hair nervously. "You just...started healing on your own. Vincent said it was because of the Jenova cells in your body becoming more active. He had some other stuff he wanted to tell you, too..." "It would seem that my timing was impeccable then." Vincent said from the doorway, where he had apparently just appeared. "I came to see how you were doing. I'm glad your already awake." Vincent strode into the room and turned to Tifa. "I think...it would be best for you to leave us alone, Tifa." Tifa nodded and shuffled out of the room.

Vincent turned back to Cloud and gave him a searching look with his crimson eyes, then took a deep breath and began. "As Tifa just informed you, the Jenova cells are becoming more active, making you an easier target. And it's only going to get worse as time goes on. Soon you won't be able to stop yourself from doing something like killing one of us, if Jenova wants you to do it." Cloud just stared at him, amazed at the bluntness of the statement. "...So...what's going to happen?" He asked finally. Vincent raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "I mean...what are you guys going to do? She won't even let me die. Soon I'll kill you all so that you won't get in the way of her absorbing the planet's Lifestream or whatever the hell she plans on doing."

Vincent was silent for a while, then he finally said "We'll just have to watch you. We won't do anything...drastic...unless it is absolutely necessary." Cloud just sat in silence, and after a while Vincent said "...We should be coming up on Icicle Inn soon. Get ready to go." And with that turned on his heel and strode out of the room, his red cape billowing behind him dramatically. _Show off._ Cloud thought bitterly. He stood up and followed.

When Cloud finally navigated his way to the cockpit, he saw that everyone else was there too, looking out the window at the small village that was below. "...So, where will we be going first?" Cloud asked, making everyone aware of his presence. "We're just gonna ask around town and see if anyone has noticed anything out of the ordinary." Tifa replied. "Don't freak out on us. I don't wanna have to save your ass from wolves again." Reno said with a frown. "Reno!" Elena exclaimed, punching him in the arm. "Ouch! What the hell--" "ANYWAY." Rude interrupted. "Reno, Elena, and I will handle the questioning. You guys can just hang back here." "WHAT! I don't wanna do all that work!" Reno exclaimed. "Just shut up and walk." Elena growled, shoving him out of the airship door just as it landed. "Ahh! What the $#& is the matter with you two!" Reno could be heard bellowing from outside.

"I think that sometimes Reno doesn't pick up on subtle hints." Yuffie giggled. "Well what the hell are we gonna do now? There ain't anythin' eventful left ta do except babysit Mr. Angst over there." Barret growled, shooting Cloud a glare. "...What...did you just say?" Cloud hissed, taking a few steps forward. "Hey! Knock it the &$ off you morons." Cid snapped. "I don't want to spend the next thirty $&# minutes scrubbing blood off the floor." Cloud glared at Barret furiously then said "I've never asked anything of all of you more then once. And I don't care if you carry through with that favor or not, if I'm going to be treated like a burden."

"But ya _are_ a burden. I dun care who ya used to be, to me all ya are now is a host for that creature, who follows it's every whim without question. Isn't that right Cloud? Ya'd kill us all if she told ya to, wouldn't ya?" Barret asked scathingly. "Barret!" Red barked, leaping to his feet and stepping in front of him. "What is wrong with you!" Tifa asked, shocked. "Ya should know more then anyone, Tifa! Yer the first one he's tried to killed. No wait...ya weren't the first one. That was Aeris." No sooner had he finished the sentence then Cloud leaped at him, punching him as hard as he could across his jaw, nearly tripping over Red along the way. Barret took a step back, but quickly recovered and slammed Cloud across the stomach with his gun arm, sending him flying backwards.

Tifa quickly grabbed Cloud to keep him from lunging towards Barret again, and Cid and Vincent were both holding back Barret. "You _bastard!_ How _dare_ you!" Cloud roared, breaking free of Tifa's grasp. He didn't try to run at him again, however, because he was still recovering from the whack across his midsection. He thought he could taste blood. If looks could kill, Barret would have been stricken dead from the glare of complete and utter loathing he was now receiving from Cloud. "It's the truth! Ya'd kill any one a' us, given half a chance!" Barret shot back. "Even Aeris! Hell, if she were still alive I'm sure ya woulda done away with the poor girl by now!"

There was a tense silence, then a smile cracked across Cloud's face and he started laughing. Hysterically. "Ha! Hehe...You may be right, Barret..." Cloud said when he could catch his breath, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes walking towards Barret until he was right up in his face. Nobody tried to stop him. He stared Barret in the eye, and his smile grew even broader. "But I assure you...If anyone were to die soon, it would be _you._" "You...don't mean that..." Tifa said slowly. Cloud ignored her and turned, tromping off into the back of the Highwind without another word.

Cloud slid the lounge room door shut behind him, and collapsed on the couch, clenching his eyes shut. _That...wasn't me._ He thought slowly. _It wasn't me...it can't have been me..._

_And are you always going to blame your problems on Jenova? She wasn't there, just then._

_You..._

_It was you..._

_You want to kill them, don't you?_

Cloud shook his head.

_No! Of course not! They're my friends..._

Laughter.

_Yes. Excellent friends. And that's why Barret thinks your a minion of evil sent to destroy the world._

_Well...maybe he's not the best friend on earth...but I wouldn't kill him..._

_What about Tifa?_

A pause.

_...What about her?_

_She deceived you. She knew something was wrong. She never said a word though, until it was absolutely necessary because Sephiroth revealed the truth to you. Or at least the truth for the most part._

_...She didn't...want to upset me..._

_Wrong. She didn't want you to leave. She wanted you to stay, just for the novelty of having someone from her childhood around. You two weren't even that close. And Yuffie...she's an annoying freeloader who whines too much. Red never thinks of anything besides Cosmo Canyon and his miniature soap opera starring himself, his father, and the Gi tribe. Vincent is full of himself. Cid is a chain-smoking asshole who doesn't give a crap what you guys do with to other, as long as you don't get blood on his precious airship. Still think of them as friends?_

Suddenly the voices all died down as the door slid open and Tifa entered the room, treading softly, thinking that Cloud was asleep. "Having a nightmare..." He heard her mutter, then after some shuffling around she found a blanket and covered him up. That done, she exited the room just as quietly as she had come.

_As a matter of fact...I do._

"Hey! Kids!" Elena called, rushing up to a couple of kids, a boy and a girl, who were hurrying home for dinner. They turned around and looked at her curiously. "What is it lady? We don't have a lot of time to talk..." The girl said quickly. Elena bent down to their level and smiled brightly. "Fine, then I won't keep you too long. Can you two tell me if anything out of the ordinary has been going on in this town?" She asked cheerfully. The little girl and boy exchanged glances, then looked back at her. "...Yeah, as a matter of fact." The boy replied. "There are some scientist people here, who seemed interested in a piece of turtle shell we found in the Northern Crater!" The little girl piped up, beaming. "Oh, shut up. It was _not_ a turtle shell. Anyway, the scientist guy seemed interested in it, then shooed us out of the office. It'll be that smallish house over there." The boy said, pointing to a small house near the edge of town.

"Sorry lady, but we've really gotta go now!" The girl apologized, then she and the boy raced off to their house. "...What the hell is it with you and kids?" Reno asked amazed. "I could never get a kid to talk to me like that. Usually they want to pull my hair or ask me questions about the tattoos under my eyes..." "Hey...isn't that Gast's old place?" Rude commented. They stared at it for a moment, then Reno finally said "Well, no use just standing here gawking at it. Let's go check it out." With that he jogged off towards the house, Elena and Rude trailing close behind.

After a few minutes of knocking, a disgruntled looking man in a lab coat answered the door, brushing his dark hair out of his eyes and irritatedly adjusting his glasses. "What do you want?" He snapped. "Oh, we were just wondering why someone would suddenly take up residence in the late Professor Gast's house. Care to enlighten us?" Rude asked. The scientist narrowed his eyes and made a move as if to slam the door in their faces, but Reno stepped forward and put his hand against the door, stopping it dead in it's tracks. "Look, you arrogant jackass, you may be able to treat the simpletons here like garbage, but your going to have to talk to us or we'll force our way in and come to our own conclusions as to what's going on here." Reno said coolly, leaning against the door as if he owned the place.

The scientist drew himself up to his full height (which wasn't much, mind you) and exclaimed: "I don't have time for this! Recently one of our test facilities was broken into and our prized specimen escaped, so I'm up to my neck in work. Not only that, but the help we hired apparently didn't do their job, and got away with the money! So, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do...if you would be so kind as to get off of my door..." He glared at Reno, who slowly stepped away from the door, a huge smile on his face. "Yeah, you get back to that. Sorry for the trouble." Reno replied. The scientist scowled and slammed the door, making some snow fly off the roof.

"Stupidity knows no bounds." Reno muttered, turning to his fellow Turks with a smile. "He was handing out sensitive information like it was candy. Must be new to the job. Anyway, let's go tell the group what's up." That said, the Turks started to head back towards the airship parked in clear view of the town.

"Lucy! We're home!" Reno called in a false Hispanic accent as he and the other Turks tromped back onto the Highwind. "And have we got some interesting stuff to tell you all." He noticed Barret sitting on a chair at one end of the cockpit, holding an ice pack to his jaw and appearing to be in a horrid mood. "What the hell happened to you?" Reno asked, then looked around and noticed Cloud was missing. "And where's that spikey haired dude? Cloud?" "Don't even ask." Barret shot back, fixing Reno with a venomous glare. "Yeah. Anyway, domestic disputes aside," Reno said wryly, glancing at Barret and smirking, "We've got some news."

"Really? What'd you guys learn?" Cid asked, his feet set up on the console. He was blowing smoke rings out of boredom. "Apparently there are scientists who came to this town recently who are behind the crap back in the Shinra Mansion." "What?" Tifa asked interestedly. "And I don't know if this is relevant...but some kids mentioned bringing them a piece of 'turtle shell' that they found in the Northern Crater." Elena commented. "'Turtle shell'..." Vincent echoed, deep in thought. "Didn't that final form of Jenova have a tough hide...almost shell-like?" He said, looking up. "Yeah! Cloud had to use the Knights of the Round summon on it to kill it..." Tifa said, her eyes widening. "You don't think...?"

"They must have used the Jenova cells left over from that one piece of skin to clone it." Vincent finished. "But why? What purpose could there possibly be for creating a new Jenova? Don't they know the last one nearly destroyed the planet?" Red asked, more to himself then anyone else. "Because they're #$& idiots?" Cid suggested. Reno snorted. "This isn't a laughing matter!" Tifa exclaimed, stomping a foot impatiently. "This is really screwing with poor Cloud! Not only that, but if they could clone her once, what's to stop them from making more!" A deathly silence fell on the room. "...But...they wouldn't do that...would they...?" Yuffie asked uncertainly.

"No." Someone said. Everyone turned to see Cloud in the cockpit doorway, a frown fixed on his face. "Jenova wouldn't permit it. She's not the kind to share her power with anyone else, even if that other person...or thing...happens to be her clone. Besides, even if it did somehow happen, as the first successful clone she would be able to manipulate the other clones, like she can with Sephiroth clones." "An' why should we listen ta ya?" Barret spat, glaring at Cloud. "Frankly, I don't give a rat's ass what you think Barret." Cloud said coolly without looking at him. "But I'm sure that even you should be able to draw the same conclusion, if you bothered to think for once instead of shooting off your mouth."

Barret leaped to his feet, but before he could move Tifa stepped between them. "Knock it off! Both of you!" She said sharply. "You're both acting like catty pre-teen girls!" "He started it." Barret growled. "Are you quite done?" Cloud asked boredly. "No, I'm not done ya traitor!" Barret shot back, and Tifa just rolled her eyes and stormed out of the room in a huff to leave them to it. "Look, if you don't both shut up, right now, I'm going to $# _electrocute_ you." Reno said, pulling out his nightstick and flipping the switch, making it crackle with electricity. Barret sat down with a frown and Cloud just stayed were he was, leaning against the door frame.

"That's better." Reno said, turning the nightstick off and sticking it back in his belt. "So were do we go from here?" Red asked, his tail swishing. "We should probably...take care of those scientists to make sure they can't cause any more trouble, and to find out what the hell they plan to accomplish by cloning Jenova." Elena suggested. "No. We're going to find Jenova first." Cloud said firmly. "Do you think that's...wise?" Vincent asked sceptically. "Yes. We've got to find her first, eliminate her, then go back and take care of the scientists. I think at the moment Jenova is the bigger threat."

"See! The first chance he gets, he wants ta go crawlin' back ta her!" Barret exclaimed, pounding his fist on the wall. "No...I want to go _kill _her so that she doesn't destroy the planet in a mad quest for power." Cloud replied. "Yeah, but she could just, y'know, be making you _think_ you want to go kill her, when she really wants you to go find her to help her out and such." Yuffie pointed out. "Hey, have a little bit of faith in me." Cloud said with a small smile. "...I think we should stay here and get some answers from these scientists." Vincent said, fixing Cloud with a calculating look. "Yuffie is, dare I say it, right. Besides, there are many questions I would like answered before we run off on an adventure." Everyone hastily agreed, and Cloud shrugged. "I understand." He said calmly, then walked off into the back area of the Highwind.

_You shouldn't try to come find me just yet, they're still too suspicious of you right now. Wait until they let their guard down._

Cloud stopped in his tracks and gripped his head, wincing in pain. _Oh shut up. I want to find you so that I can kill you, you arrogant piece of genetic waste._

_Oh my. Someone is feeling rebellious again. _Jenova mocked.

"Cloud, what's wrong?" Tifa asked concernedly, snapping his attention back to his surroundings. He looked over at her and slowly lowered his arm. "You've been standing there clutching your head for a while now. She's not talking to you again...is she?" Tifa pressed. Cloud stared at her for a moment, then forced a smile. "No, no, I've just got a headache. I've been getting them a lot lately." Tifa didn't seem convinced. "I think...I'm going to stick with you for a while. Just to make sure your okay." "No, really, I feel great." Cloud insisted, but took another look at Tifa and, seeing how determined she was, gave up. "Fine. All I'm doing is going back to the lounge anyway..." With that he drifted off to the lounge, Tifa trailing behind him.

Cloud flopped down on the couch and Tifa sat in a chair near a small window, looking out over the snowy landscape. Neither of them spoke. "...What did she say?" Tifa asked finally, breaking the silence. "I don't know what you're talking about." Cloud said calmly. "You know damn well what I mean." Tifa said, a bit of anger creeping into her voice. She shot him an exasperated glare, then looked back out the window. "Figures. You never tell me anything anymore." Cloud frowned, but didn't say anything. "It's like you want everyone to be suspicious of you. Do you know how bad you looked earlier, suggesting that we go look for Jenova?" "So you were listening." Cloud replied. "That's not the point Cloud! You can't do stuff like that anymore! Soon Barret won't be the only paranoid one around here."

"What, so I can't even voice my own opinion anymore?" Cloud asked dryly. "Of course you can! You just...have to be careful, is all. Especially since your outburst earlier today." Tifa replied. "You mean about killing him?" Cloud asked coolly, glancing over at her. "...Yes." Tifa said uncomfortably. "...Did you mean what you said?" Cloud stared at the floor silently, then finally answered: "I don't know Tifa. I'm...I'm scared. I think I'm starting to lose it." He looked over at her, his eyes widening with shock, and he leaped to his feet. Tifa sat in the chair, her head slumped forward, and a gaping hole in her chest. Blood pooled on the floor underneath her seat. "Tifa?" He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

She didn't respond.

"Tifa!" He called again, starting to panic. "What?" She asked, lifting her head up and looking at him confusedly. He clenched his eyes shut and opened them again. Tifa sat in the chair looking at him curiously. She was perfectly fine. No hole in her chest. No blood. Cloud slowly sat down and put his face in his hands. "Nothing Tifa." He replied hollowly


	6. Chapter 5: Explosions are always fun

Chapter Five: Explosions are always fun.

The Ruby Weapon suddenly leaped out of it's hiding place, sending sand flying in every direction. It grabbed ahold of the tram full of passengers on their way to the Gold Saucer, the gears grinding in an attempt to continue on it's track. It stared into the windows a moment, looking at people inside (who were more then a little terrified) then shook it experimentally. The people screamed. Just as it made a motion as if to rip the tram off of it's cables it stopped, turning it's head to the North as if listening to something. Looking disappointed, it let the tram go, and started plodding off at a slow leisurely pace. The tram swung wildly for a moment, then continued on it's path, wobbling slightly.

The Emerald Weapon, on the other hand, wasn't fond of causing chaos and mayhem unless it was necessary, although once in a while when it was in a bad mood it had been known to sink some ships unfortunate enough to run across it. It was drifting around in the ocean lazily when it suddenly slowed to a stop. After a moment, it started swimming as fast as it could to the North.

"Hiya sweetie, didja miss us?" Reno asked, shoving his way past the confused scientist into the house. Everyone soon filed in behind him, including Cloud who (despite Barret's angry protests) was carrying his sword and materia. "What are you doing! Get out of here right now!" The scientist exclaimed. Everyone ignored him. Yuffie immediately dove towards the desk, her nimble fingers picking up anything that looked remotely valuable as she tore apart the drawers. Rude walked over to the nervous scientist, and asked calmly "Is there anyone else here?" The scientist shook his head. "Well then, if you're telling the truth, I guess your the lucky slob we'll be squeezing information out of." Reno said with a smile.

The scientist paled, and Rude grabbed him before he could run. Reno got a chair and brought it over, and the scientist was shoved down into it. Reno and Rude stood in front of him, the former looking like Christmas had come early. This was one of his favorite parts of the job. "So. Let's start with something easy." Reno began. "Were you the ones who had the Jenova clone hidden away in the Shinra Mansion?" The scientist fidgeted, but said nothing. "I'm sorry, did I stutter?" Reno asked irritatedly. "Answer the question!" "...Yes." The scientist said finally. "Alrighty, now that we got all that straightened out, how about you tell us who in the hell would be so stupid as to clone the thing, and why?" "I can't tell you that!" The scientist replied.

"Tch. Rude..." Reno said, motioning towards their captive. Rude reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun, aiming it squarely between the scientist's eyes. "Let's try that again, only with you answering the question." Reno suggested. "I-I don't know! I swear!" He said quickly. "Aw, that's a shame, I almost believed you." Reno replied. Rude suddenly pointed the gun down and shot the scientist's kneecap, making him scream in pain. "Last chance..." Reno stated. "I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T DAMMIT!" The scientist yelled, leaning forward and trying to stop the flow of blood from his knee with his hands, grimacing in obvious pain. "Stop it! I think he's telling the truth!" Elena said, striding towards them with a frown.

Reno took one last glance towards him, then shrugged and turned away. Rude stuffed his gun back in his jacket without a word. "Anyone care to see what's down these stairs?" Red asked, standing at the top of the staircase that led down into the lower floors of the house. Everyone was soon filing down the staircase to leave the scientist to tend to his wounded leg.

As soon as they were out of sight and earshot, the scientist dragged himself over to the desk. When he finally managed to, he lifted up his bloody hands and started to type into the computer rapidly. There was a soft wirrrrr, then a small beep, and he smiled. "That'll teach you, cocky bastards."

"How anti-climactic." Yuffie commented, looking around boredly. There wasn't anything there but a living room, with a few other rooms branching off of it. "We should look around, just in case." Tifa suggested, and soon all of the rooms were searched, most of which were nothing more interesting then spare bedrooms or closets. Except for one.

"Well, what have we got here?" Cid said, pulling on the doorknob of a very ordinary looking door. It didn't budge. "The #$&! won't open." He growled. "Get outta the way." Barret said, aiming his gun arm. Before anyone could protest he let loose with a storm of bullets, making the door practically disintegrate. "Thanks for the heads-up, dumb-ass." Cid spat, picking himself up off of the floor, having dove out of the way just in time. "Yeah, well that's payback for the airship rides." Barret replied, tromping off into the room. Cid growled a blue streak of curses and followed. Everyone else was soon in the room, looking around curiously. There were shelves and shelves of files and books lining the walls. "And here I was half expecting it to be a porn collection." Reno stated with a wry grin, running a hand along one of the shelves.

"...For the amount of information that is obviously contained here, the security is curiously lax." Vincent remarked, his crimson eyes scanning the room cautiously. "Aw, you worry too much Vinny." Yuffie said, darting between the isles and looking for anything worth grabbing. "It's a freakin' library. How much protection could there be?"

Wiiirrrrrrr, beep. _Security system activated. Intruders detected. Elimination of intruders imminent._ An electronic voice announced.

"Yuffie, I'm going to kill you the next time you say anything like that." Tifa groaned, shaking her head. "Let's get out of here." Cloud suggested, turning towards the doorway. But even as he said it a steel door slid in place, blocking the exit. "Any other brilliant ideas?" Barret growled. "Shut the hell up Barret." Tifa snapped back, glaring at him. Barret seemed momentarily surprised from having one of his closer friends snap at him, but he soon recovered and turned his back to them with a snort. "...I hear something." Red remarked, looking towards the Northern wall. Suddenly a hidden door in the wall swung open, and two large spider-like robots scrambled into the room. The door closed quickly behind them, thus assuring that their prey was trapped. The robots stood still a moment, as if sizing up the enemy, then suddenly charged forward.

"We'll split into two groups of five!" Cloud yelled out, quickly dodging between some bookcases as a laser shot past. He was quickly joined by Tifa, Yuffie, Red, and surprisingly, Barret. Noticing the curious looks, Barret said "I'm jus here ta make sure ya don't try ta pull nothin'." Cloud shrugged dismissively and peeked around the end of the bookcase, quickly pulling his head back just as a metallic leg came crashing down where his head had been a split second ago. The robot scuttled around the edge of the bookcase, it's electronic eyes swiveling and coming to rest on the five people before it. It let out a cheerful sounding beep before charging forward, lasers blasting.

"Any plan of action?" Elena asked, pulling out her gun and leaning against the bookcase, clenching her eyes shut as the sound of lasers firing from where the others were fighting rent the air. "...Beat the hell out of it until it's dead?" Reno suggested, only half joking. Elena fixed him with a glare then rolled her eyes. "Another brilliant plan, O wise Turk captain." She remarked, giving a mock salute. "Are you questioning my leadership?" Reno snapped. "Oh no. I love the fact that you put no thought whatsoever into what you do, and suggest that we join the former enemy on the off chance that the Jenova creature has been cloned. How do we know that Cloud isn't just crazy? Tseng never would have led us into this kind of crap." Elena shot back.

"Guys..." Rude said slowly, but they completely ignored him. Vincent drew the Death Penalty without a word, and Cid had his spear at the ready.

"Don't _even_ complain about this, it was you and Rude who believed their story in the first place! You can't pin that one on me! I'm sorry you don't have a little schoolgirl crush on me like you did with Tseng, but that doesn't mean I'm a bad leader." Reno growled.

"Uh...guys...?" Rude tried again, but was quickly cut off by Elena.

"What are you talking about 'little schoolgirl crush'! Of all the stupid things to say! I did _not_ have a crush on Tseng, I just admired him for being good at his job, something that you haven't quite grasped!" Elena said indignantly.

"...Hello?" Rude said, not expecting a response.

Reno glared at her angrily. "Well, he sure didn't seem to be at that good at his job when he got killed by Sephiroth, now did he?" He asked scathingly. Elena stared at him, speechless. Just as she opened her mouth to make some sort of retort, Cid yelled "Shut the #$ up and look behind you, you goddamn morons!" Both Reno and Elena turned, catching sight of the second robot staring at them curiously. Seeing that it had finally been noticed, it leaped forward to attack.

"Shit!" Barret exclaimed, jumping out of the way as the robot swept the floor where the party had been standing a moment ago with it's lasers. Red let out a sharp yelp and Barret looked over to see him limping slightly, a laser having grazed one of his hind legs. Red let out a low growl and a green glow surrounded him briefly, before dissipating. Suddenly the robot was thrown roughly into the air as it was hit with the Quake spell, but it quickly regained it's footing and charged forward again, unfazed. Barret immediately began to shoot, but the bullets bounced off of the robot's armor as if he were throwing pebbles. Soon he ran out of bullets and could only dive for cover as the robot began firing lasers for the second time.

"Someone use a summon of the thing! It's too strong ta jus fight normally!" Barret called. Yuffie quickly sprang into action, pulling out a red materia and concentrating on it. "NO! Wait!" Cloud yelled out, nearly making Yuffie drop the materia as her concentration broke. "Gah! What the hell?" She asked, fixing Cloud with a glare as Tifa hit the robot with a fire spell, hoping to draw it's attention away from the now exposed Yuffie. "This is obviously some important information, we want to make sure that we don't lose any more then is necessary." He responded. "We should finish this quickly, so that there isn't too much damage to the library."

"...An' I say we burn the place to the ground, if he's so eager to keep that information from gettin' lost." Barret growled from his hiding place behind a filing cabinet. "Barret, this isn't the time to start this..." Tifa panted, jumping out of the way just before one of the robot's arms came crashing down at her angrily. Cloud leaped forward, cutting an exposed wire on one of the robot's back legs. It let out an angry series of beeps, then whipped around and flung him to one side with one of it's arms. Cloud hit a nearby bookcase, disappearing in a flurry of papers, files, and books. Still, he had dealt the robot a harsh blow, and it didn't move nearly as quickly.

Yuffie tried again, letting the Oritsuru fly and hitting one of the robot's eyes, shattering the glass. As the robot reeled back and confusedly tried to focus on it's targets. Red jumped into action, his claws and teeth slashing at the wires on the robot's front legs, making it stumble to the ground. Just then Cloud emerged from his prison of books and, after making sure he wasn't too badly hurt, a soft green glow surrounded him and a bolt of lightning shot down from the ceiling. The robot twitched twice, then fell completely to the ground and didn't move. "Is everyone alright?" He asked, looking around. Apart from some minor cuts and bruises, nobody seemed to be badly hurt. "Good, then let's go help the others."

As they started off towards the sounds of battle at the other end of the room, the robot gave another twitch and lifted up slightly, it's lasers starting to charge one last time.

Elena and Reno dove to the side as the robot plowed past them, skidding to a halt and whipping around, letting loose with a hail of bullets. Reno jumped to his feet and pulled Elena out of the way just as the floor where she had been a moment ago broke apart where the bullets hit it. Before she could say anything, he shoved her roughly behind him and snapped "Stay the hell out of the way if you can't take care of yourself!" Before charging forward, his nightstick blazing. Rude was soon beside him, firing his gun, with results similar to Barret's. Cid hung back a moment, focusing on a materia, then the robot froze up momentary as it was encased in a thin layer of ice.

It was more then enough time for everyone there. Reno slid under the robot, sending off an electrical charge into it's sensitive underbelly, and Rude and Vincent fired at any weak points they spotted in it's outer shell. This didn't last long, however, for the robot soon broke free of it's crystalline prison and opened fire once again. Everyone leaped out of the way, and Elena, recovering from her initial shock, sprang forward, hitting the robot with a low level fire spell. "No! Elena, get out of there!" Reno yelled, a second too late. The robot charged forward and swept her out of it's way with a casual swing of it's metallic arm, sending her sprawling across the room. She didn't move.

"Elena!" Rude called, starting forward, but Reno caught his arm and pulled him back, a sour look on his face. "Goddamn rookie. Just stay here Rude, I'll get her out of there." Rude hesitated a moment, then nodded in agreement. "I'll try to draw it's attention to myself, so that you have time to get Elena out of immediate danger, but you'll have to be quick." Vincent said. "Guns don't seem to bother this particular robot too much." Reno gave him a quick nod. "On three?" "Of course." Vincent replied, making sure that his gun still had bullets in it. "Alright, one...two...three!" Reno called, charging forward. Vincent circled around and began to shoot at the robot from behind. It gave an irritated whistle and turned around to face him. Vincent continued to shoot, although for all the effect it had he may as well have just thrown his gun at it.

As soon the robot was distracted Reno darted over to Elena, who was still laying on the floor. He gave her a rough shake and looked over his shoulder, where the robot was coming down on Vincent quickly. "Elena! Get up!" He barked, giving her another shake. She stirred slightly, but other then that didn't move. He cursed under his breath and picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder with a grunt. "Jesus Christ woman, lose some weight." He muttered, darting back to the makeshift fort of filing cabinets along one wall were Rude and Cid were waiting. The moment Vincent saw that Reno had made it back safely, he shoved his gun back into it's holster and pulled out a materia. The robot was now only about seven feet away from him.

Suddenly the room darkened, and a man with deer antlers sitting astride a six-legged gray horse stood in front of the robot, Vincent having used this time to escape. The robot stood still, not knowing how to approach this new threat. The horse suddenly backed up a few steps then galloped forward, and the man sliced the robot neatly in half with his sword before fading from sight. The robot collapsed in two different halves, sending off sparks, it's legs twitching uncontrollably.

"...What was that?" Reno asked, Elena safe on the ground near Rude. "The Odin summon." Vincent replied. "Is Elena alright?" Reno glanced back at her, and shrugged. "She'll live, but we'd better get Tifa over here so she can use the restore materia on her." Cid leaned against the wall, already smoking a cigarette. "I wonder how the others are--" He began, but was cut off as an explosion rocked the library, sending debris flying everywhere.

Hearing the robot move, Red whipped around with a growl, and the others also turned, but were too slow. The robot suddenly tried to fire, but it's lasers were damaged beyond repair. It started to shudder as the energy it had built up started to try to burst free. "EVERYONE DUCK FOR COVER!" Cloud shouted, diving behind a bookcase and covering his face just as the robot exploded, bits of shrapnel, wood, stone, and paper flying through the air. After a few minutes, Cloud slowly tried to move, but was pinned in place by what appeared to be one of the robot's legs, which had landed across his back. He hadn't even felt it.

He heard someone moaning in pain, and tried to call out, but his vocal cords didn't seem to want to respond. After several tries, he finally managed a weak "Tifa?".

No response.

"Red? Yuffie?...Barret?" He tried again. As soon as he called Barret's name, he heard an answering "Ugh." Cloud lifted up his head and looked around he room, but his vision was limited due to his position. It looked as if half of the house had collapsed on top of the library, and he noticed for the first time that it was cold. Snow drifted around in lazy circles, already started to cover the rubble. Cloud tried to lift himself up again, and realized why the metal leg of the robot hadn't snapped his spine. His sword was slung dutifully across his back, and had managed to keep it from crushing him. After a few tries, Cloud was finally able to wiggle out from under it, wincing in pain.

"...Cloud?" He heard Barret's gruff voice call. He swung his head around to see Barret lying nearby, the lower half of his body pinned under a large piece of what may have once been ceiling. "...Hang on, Barret." He answered finally, staggering to his feet and limping over to him, but Barret shook his head and waved an arm at him. "Naw. Jus' go find the others first. I'll be fine 'till then. It ain't as bad as it looks." Cloud hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. But don't die on me. I'll have nightmares." Barret grinned. "Now when have I heard that before?" Cloud shrugged, and also broke into a small smile before turning around. "...'Ey, Cloud?" Barret called suddenly. Cloud turned back and looked at him. "...I'm sorry." Barret said, rubbing his neck absently. "I've been a moron. I know it ain't your fault. I'm jus'...sorry." Cloud stared at him a moment, then broke out into a grin. "What's the matter Barret, you going soft on me?" He asked, turning back around and picking his way through the rubble.

"Ya only wish, ya spikey headed nut case!" Barret called after him, and Cloud just shook his head as he started to search for the rest of his friends.


	7. Chapter 6: Sifting through the wreckage

Chapter Six: Sifting through the wreckage.

"_Gawd!_ Cloud, could ya give me a hand, I'm stuck!" Cloud heard Yuffie yell somewhere to his left as she noticed him. He turned to see her thrashing around, her foot stuck between a few heavy wooden boards. "Yuffie, hold still! You're going to break your ankle if you keep yanking at it like that." Cloud said soothingly, walking over to her. "How did you manage to keep from getting hit?" Yuffie shrugged, wincing slightly as Cloud moved one of the boards, freeing her foot. "Ninja's luck, I guess. Thanks. Need some help finding the others?" Yuffie asked, oddly helpful. Cloud nodded his agreement, and they started off together, looking for any sign of the rest of the party.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. #$! OW!" Reno exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head were something had hit it. He looked at his hand, startled to see blood. It took him a moment to register that there had been an explosion, and that he was probably badly injured. He got to his feet shakily, a sharp pain shooting through his side. _Broken ribs._ He thought grimly. He looked around, and saw Cloud and Yuffie wandering around, looking through the rubble. It suddenly dawned on him that others had been here too. Rude. Elena. He looked around frantically, but couldn't see any sign of them. "Rude! Elena!" He called. "Over here." He heard a familiar voice respond. Reno looked around, then saw to his relief that Rude was sitting nearby, dusting himself off. Apparently he had come out of it unscathed.

"Where's Elena?" Reno asked. Rude pointed over his shoulder to were Elena lay, still unconscious. It looked like Rude had managed to keep her from getting hurt more badly then she already was. "You look like crap." Rude commented, looking Reno up and down. "Are you alright?" "I'm just peachy, thanks." Reno spat back. "Where are the others? Vincent and Cid?" Rude shrugged. "I can't babysit everyone, you know." He replied. "That won't be nnecessary" Vincent said coldly, stepping into view. Reno jumped, then glared at him. "Do you have to do that? You're going to give me a freakin' heart attack." Vincent just shrugged dismissively, then said "I can't find Cid. Would anyone like to help look for him?" Rude stood up, and after making sure he was unharmed, nodded. "I'll help. I've got nothing better to do. Reno can stay here with Elena." And with that, they tromped off, leaving Reno standing there alone with an unconscious Elena.

"Fine, just leave me here! I don't mind!" He snapped after them, sitting down slowly. He glanced over at Elena, noticing that she looked pale. He felt the slightest twinge of...concern?

_Concern? For her? I must be losing my mind._ Reno thought, shaking his head. Still, he couldn't help wishing that Tifa would get here soon, so that she could use that restore materia she was so handy with.

"Hey Cloud, the Turks are over there. Vinny's with 'um." Yuffie said, pointing off to her left. Cloud glanced over, then nodded. "Good. Then that means the only people missing now are Tifa, Red, and Cid." "I'm not missing, thank you very much. I'm just resting." Growled Red from his shelter under an overhang of rubble, his flame tipped tail flicking, sizzling slightly as the snow hit it. "...Didn't you hear me calling you?" Cloud asked, bending down to Red's level. "I figured that you'd get out of whatever trouble you were in on your own. You have a knack for that. Besides, I have my own problems..." Red replied, shifting slightly, and Cloud noticed that the fur on his side was soaked with blood, making it an even deeper red.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Cloud asked. Red shrugged (at least as well as he could, since it was a motion better suited for humans and not...whatever his species was). "I'm not sure what happened. I guess I must've gotten hit by the stuff flying through the air. And yes, I'm fine for now. In fact, I may be able to help you find the others..." With a groan, he stood up and started to sniff around. "...Are you absolutely _sure_ that you should be walking around?" Cloud asked. "Well, if I don't help, then it will take forever to find everyone, and I could bleed to death in that amount of time. I don't think I have much of a choice...ah! I've got Tifa's scent!" He suddenly started bounding off, despite his wounds.

"Here." He said, inclining his head at a pile of wreckage in front of them. "I can hear her breathing, so she isn't dead." Cloud and Yuffie immediately started to dig at the rubble, and soon they had cleared away enough off of the top so that there was a hole large enough for Tifa to come out through. Apparently the rubble had fallen around her, rather then on top of her, for which she was very fortunate. "Tifa! Are you okay?" Cloud called. There was a pause then "...Yeah, I think I am. Look out, I'm coming up..." and with that, she leaped out of the hole, landing gracefully on the ground.

"Thanks you guys." She said, looking at them each gratefully, her eyes lingering on Cloud. Cloud shuffled uncomfortably. "It was nothing..." He muttered. She smiled at him, then grabbed him and kissed him on the cheek before quickly turning away and muttering about tending to Nanaki's side. Cloud stood there, stunned and blinking. "Hehe...I was wondering how long it would take. A regular couple of love birds you two are." Yuffie giggled, nudging Cloud with an elbow. "I don't know what you're talking about. I...I don't like Tifa, not as more then a friend..." Cloud said, trailing off and looking over at Tifa as she healed Red's wound.

_No, you don't like Tifa. She lied to you, and used you for her own purposes..._

Cloud shook his head and looked back at Yuffie. "...What was I in the middle of doing?" He asked confusedly. "...You were just standing there. Maybe...we should see if anyone else neneedsifa's help, or if the others have found Cid yet." Yuffie said carefully, giving him a funny look. Cloud nodded, not really paying attention. "Yes. Good idea." He replied absently.

Elena opened her eyes groggily, shivering with the cold. It seemed like everything was fuzzy, then she realized it was because of the snow that was falling all around. She tried to sit up, then rolled over and lost her lunch. "Good morning, sunshine." Reno said sarcastically from where he was sitting nearby, his eyes closed. Elena wiped off her mouth with the back of her hand, then shuddered. "W-what happened?" She asked, still shaking. "You tried to do something extremely stupid. It's lucky you aren't a bloody smear on the floor right now." Reno replied. Elena shot him a glare and eased herself up into a sitting position, wincing and clutching her stomach.

"Yeah, well...at least I tried." Elena said finally. "If that's your definition of trying, then you should quit while your ahead." Reno replied cocoollyElena snorted and didn't reply. "...How are you feeling?" Reno asked, opening an eye and glancing at her. "What should you care?" She snapped back. She ignored him as he opened both eyes and continued to look at her. "You're shivering pretty bad." He pointed out. Elena frowned and didn't reply. Reno shrugged off his jacket and tossed it at her with a sigh. She caught it and looked at him curiously. "You're no good to me sick as well as injured. You can just wear that until Tifa gets her slow ass over here." Reno said, leaning back against some rubble and closing his eyes again.

"...But I'm already wearing a jacket." She said, pointing towards her blue Turk uniform. Reno shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to put it on. With the way you're shaking, you'd think that we were in the middle of the Arctic tundra." Elena slowly put on the jacket, which was much too large for her. "What about you? Aren't you cold?" She asked. Reno shrugged again. "Not enough to bother me." He replied shortly. Elena glanced at him, then leaned back, drawing the jacket close around her to stop the shaking. "...Thanks Reno." She said, genuine gratitude creeping into her voice. Reno opened his eyes and glanced at her, smiling wryly. "Hey, does this mean that you owe me a favor?" He started to inch a little closer, until she shot him a withering glare. "If you even so much as _think_ about touching me, I'll rip your arms out of their sockets." She growled.

"Damn." Reno muttered, scooting back over to his previous spot.

"#$! My $!&# leg!" Cid exclaimed as Vincent and Rude pulled him out of the wreckage. He continued to curse and lit a cigcigaretteth shaking hands. "Are you hurt badly?" Vincent asked. "...I dunno." Cid replied with a shrug, taking a long drag off of his cigarette and flicking it aside. "Is everyone else okay?" He asked. "I'm not sure." Vincent said, his eyes sweeping around as he would suddenly find the answer somewhere near by. Rude stood there uncomfortably, not knowing whether he should leave them now that Cid had been found or not. He didn't really feel like he should be there, not being particularly close to Vincent or Cid.

"Where the hell is my spear?" Cid barked suddenly, looking around frantically. He relaxed when he saw the top half of it sticking out of a pile of rubble nearby. A few more minutes of uncomfortable silence followed, then Cid growled "I wish Tifa would hurry the #$ up. I wanna get out of here."

"Barret!" Tifa exclaimed, dashing over to him concernedly. "You're...stuck under a chunk of ceiling..." "Well, yer feelin' real perceptive right now, aren't ya?" Barret growled, not unkindly. "Red, do you think you could help me move this?" Cloud asked. Red's tail flicked, and he stared at the piece of wreckage a moment before nodding. "I should be able to." And with that he padded over to one end of it, waiting patiently for Cloud, who hurried over, grabbing onto it. "Ready?" Red asked. Cloud nodded, and they both pulled (or in the case of Red, pushed) the chunk of ceiling, and Barret was soon free. Tifa immediately set to work with her restore materia, and it wasn't long before Barret stood up and said "Well? Where are the others?" Yuffie shrugged. "Why don't we go see?" She suggested, already bounding off.

"Hey Reno, is that you?" Yuffie called, skidding to a halt and nearly falling off of the pile of rubble she was perched on as a rock slipped out from under her foot. The snow had started to come down more thickly, making it hard to see four feet in front of your face. Yuffie and Tifa were the worst off, since they were wearing the least. Cloud hoped it didn't take long to gather everyone up, heal them, and high-tail it out of there before someone got curious enough to come and see what all the commotion had been about.

"Is that that annoying girl? Yuffie?" Reno called, deliberately trying to provoke her. "Of course it's Reno, dumb ass. Took you all long enough to get here." Yuffie muttered something inaudibleand and Tifa brushed past her, going to see if anyone needed her restore materia. Cloud noticed she seemed to be getting tired. _I'd be tired too, if I were running around healing everyone..._ He thought.

It didn't take long to find Cid, Vincent, and Rude once Elena and Reno were healed up. Tifa tended to Cid's leg, then they all retreated as fast as they could to the Highwind, just as some curious Icicle Inn residents were starting to work up the courage to investigate the explosion.

That was definitely not the reaction that the scientist had anticipated. He moaned in pain, having been tossed back agains the wall, beaten and broken by various pieces of debris that had flown through the air. Now his knee was the least of his problems.

He heard footsteps clicking on the hard wood floor. "...What happened here, Gordon?" A man asked sharply. Gordon slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the man, first in confusion, then in overwhelming relief. "Oh sir, you have no idea how good it is to see you!" He choked out, coughing up blood. "I was afraid I was going to die here..." "Gordon. Focus." The man snapped, and Gordon nodded. "Yes, of course. A group of people barged in here, asked some questions I couldn't--wouldn't--answer, then shot me and went downstairs. I knew they'd come across the library, so I let loose the security robots you designed, sir. But something went wrong, and everything..." He stopped, breaking into a coughing fit once more.

"...Everything was lost." The man finished. Gordon nodded through his coughing. "Please sir, could you help me...?" He implored. The man didn't seem to hear him. "All my research, gone? Just like that? An entire month of my life's work, the work of everyone on the staff, thrown away because of your stupid mistake?" "S-sorry, sir, I truly am..." Gordon started, but then the man leaned down and stared him in the eye, cutting him off. "It's too late for sorry, Gordon. You see, I'm not a patient man. It's going to take me _hours_ to get all of the back-up information from the Shinra Mansion, which is now being watched closely by the residents. That makes me unhappy."

Before Gordon had the chance to apologize further, the man reached into his coat and pulled out a gun, shooting the unfortunate scientist between the eyes. He slumped forward, and the man caught him before he hit the ground. "Hmm. It will be interesting to test what happens when Jenova cells are exposed to dead tissue." The man whispered, slipping the gun back into his coat and tossing Gordon's body over his shoulder with surprising strength. He then shuffled out of the ruined shell of the house with a distinctive haunch.

"Oh man, I need to start dressing for cold weather when we come here!" Tifa exclaimed, shivering as the door of the Highwind slid shut with a metallic clang. "It's your own fault. You and Yuffie are the only women I know who would go off on an adventure through snow and ice in short shorts, skirts, tops, and tennis shoes." Reno said from his vantage point on the couch. He looked them up and down, then smiled wolfishly. "Not that I'm complaining..." Tifa shot him a glare that quickly shut him up.

"Well that didn't go as well as planned." Vincent stated. "No shit Sherlock." Cid spat, chewing on a cicigarette absently. "Where are we going to go now?" Red asked, laying down on the floor. "Maybe we should--" Cloud began, the suddenly stopped as he was hit with a bout of dizziness and nearly fell over into the wall. "Cloud! Are you alright?" Tifa called out predictably. Cloud didn't answer. It was as if his limbs were frozen in place by the excruciating pain coursing through his body. He hoped he would pass out, but of course he didn't. As suddenly as it had begun, it stopped, and Cloud doubled over, coughing.

Tifa was by his side in a flash, holding him up as he shook. When the coughs finally subsided he straightened up, a light mist of blood on the floor. "Are you okay?" Tifa repeated for what must have been the fifth time, and Cloud nodded slowly. "I think...I need to lie down..." He said, stumbling off to the lounge. Tifa hung back and immediately turned to Vincent, who seemed to have all the answers. Vincent returned her look coolly, then his crimson eyes scanned the room, quickly noting that everyone else was also looking at him. He let out the smallest of sighs, then said slowly: "It should be obvious what it is by now. The Jenova cells are becoming more active, which would of course be horrible for him because he originally rejected them. Now they are forcefully trying to join with his genetic structure, which should be horrifically painful."

The room was deathly silent. "That's what I like about you Vinny, ya don't beat around the bush." Yuffie chirped, anxious to break the silence. Tifa stood there, dumbstruck, then quickly dashed out of the room after Cloud. Barret said nothing, sitting down and looking at the floor, apparently in deep thought, tapping his foot slightly.

The Emerald Weapon was the first to reach the shores of the Northern Continent. It stayed in the water a moment, contemplating the land before it, then slowly lumbered out of the water with newly grown legs. It moved much slower on these four legs then it had swimming, but that didn't seem to bother it too much. It plodded on, careful not to stop on more trees and plant life then was possible.

The Ruby Weapon looked at the water distastefully. It dipped a claw into the water experimentally, quickly pulling it back. It stood there for a few more minutes, then, with an aura of great annoyance, lowered it's self into the water and began to paddle.


	8. Chapter 7: Why did they

_Author's Note: Phew! Sorry about not having any authors notes or the like in my previous Chapters, I posted them all at once late at night, so I didn't really take the time too. xP_

_I'm sorry about all the typos in the last Chapter. I just noticed them. I hope none of the other Chapters have them. Apparently it was something with the spell checker. /_

_Many thanks to Twilight Sora, DemonSurfer, and Aleatoric for commenting, Yuffie Ninja for the favorite, Twilight Sora and DemonSurfer once again for the alerts, and everyone else out there who has taken the time to read this! _

_-Chocobo_

_P.S.: Is it just me, or does this Chapter seem short? ;;_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Cloud or any other Final Fantasy VII characters, areas, or monsters. I only wish I did. x3 I don't have any money, so please don't sue me?_

Chapter Seven: Why did they let him have a sword?

"Earlier today Chocobo prices shot up as--"

Click!

"You can have smooth silky hair too, with--"

Click!

"Well Johnny, now I know not to play with pipe bombs while I'm--"

Click!

"Breaking news from Bone Village! There have been some sightings of a large, green monster lumbering around on land on four legs, that looks remarkably like the Emerald Weapon." The pretty blond newscaster announced, reading off of some papers she held in her hand, then looking up at the camera. "We have managed to talk to some people who witnessed this frightening event." "Heeeey! Guys! Look at the TV!" Yuffie exclaimed, sitting on the couch of the huge hotel room they had booked for the next few nights, since Cloud's condition wasn't showing any improvement (They all agreed it wouldn't be wise to take him to a hospital).

Everyone gathered around as the newscaster disappeared from view, replaced with a wide-eyed woman who was talking so fast it was hard to understand her. "It was huge! As big as a mountain! And it made this horrible screech, and I could have sworn that I saw it eat somebody!" The screen switched again, this time to a balding man, who had a noticeable beer gut. "Yeah, I saws it. I was comin' outta the bar, y'know, 'cause I needed to eat somethin', and I hear this screamin'. So I looks over, and there's this huge green thing stompin' around, all Godzilla-like. It took a good three hours to clear the mountains, even wit' how big it was, 'cause it was so slow."

The screen switched one more time, to a little girl who couldn't have been older then six, with messy brown hair, in a bright yellow dress. "It was soooo awesome!" She said, jumping up and down happily. "It was the coolest thing I've ever seen! And it scared all the adults too, it was cool to see them running around like that. The thing was harmless! It wouldn't even step on the trees! I wanted to go see it, but my momma wouldn't let me. She kept saying how dangerous the thing was. She's a stupid head."

The screen switched back to the pretty blond newscaster, who was re-applying her makeup. When she noticed that she was back on the air she quickly threw the makeup kit under the desk and cleared her throat, picking up the papers and tapping them on the desk nervously. "No causalities have been reported, which is unusual for a Weapon attack, if it is in fact a Weapon. Some believe it wasn't an attack at all, but that it was just passing through..." She trailed off, looking off stage, then she nodded and turned back to the camera. "This just in! The Ruby Weapon has been seen swimming--yes, _swimming_--through the ocean in the same direction as the 'Emerald Weapon'. What are these monsters up to? Could it possibly have something to do with the commotion in Nibelhiem a few days ago? More at eleven."

Loud commercials suddenly started to play on the screen, and Vincent quickly switched off the TV. "What would the Weapons be doing heading North?" Tifa asked curiously. "Well, they are tools made by the planet, so perhaps there is danger from the North that they need to defend the planet from." Red suggested. Everyone was silent for a moment as they digested this information. "No, not the North. She's not there yet." Cloud said quietly, almost to himself. Everyone turned to him, and he continued. "She's somewhere else, somewhere safe where she can hide without being found...but first she needs something from..." He trailed off, looking up and noticing everyone looking at him. "...What?" He said uncomfortably. Barret just shook his head and turned away.

"Where is it that Jenova needs to get something from?" Vincent pressed. Cloud looked at him confusedly. "What are you talking about? I don't know anything about that." He answered, shaking his head.

_Oh yes, you do..._

Cloud shook his head again, then coughed. "...Yeah, well, anyway, should we go after the Weapons and see what they're up to?" Reno asked, sitting on the couch next to Yuffie, but still keeping far enough away that he didn't get punched. "I don't know if Cloud is up to traveling yet..." Tifa said slowly, glancing back over at Cloud, who was shaking slightly. "I'm fine." Cloud snapped, rather sharply. He forced himself to stop shaking. "I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself. Anyway, I don't think following the Weapons will tell us much. For all we know, the planet could be calling them back because they are of no more use to it."

"...Or maybe the planet thinks that it'll need the Weapons nearby ta defend it's self, like Red said. Even ya have ta admit, Cloud, with the way things are goin' that seems like the most likely reason." Barret said. "...It's a waste of time, alright! I know it is!" Cloud said agitatedly, starting to pace like a caged tiger. "We need to go to the Forgotten Capital! Now!" "Why? To visit Aeris?" Tifa asked confusedly. "No no no...for another reason altogether." Cloud muttered, not really paying attention to those around him. "I have to get it...then they won't be able to interfere...at least not as much..."

"...Alright. Let's go." Vincent said suddenly. Everyone stared at him, and Cloud gave a start, looking up at him. "Go? Where?" He asked. "To the Forgotten Capital." Vincent replied. Cloud looked at him like he was nuts. "What? Why?" Vincent shrugged. "It's just a hunch, I suppose." He replied. Cid chucked, standing up and flicking his cigarette to the floor. "Well then, let's get the hell out of here."

Everyone started to leave, but Vincent, Cid, and Tifa hung back. "Why are we lettin' the nutcase go where that #& thing wants him to go?" Cid growled as soon as the others were out of earshot. "Because. We'll see what it is Jenova wants, then make sure she doesn't get it." Vincent replied. Cid gave a reluctant nod of approval, then tromped out after the others. Vincent started to follow, then noticed that Tifa wasn't coming. He turned around and saw her staring at the floor, and waited for her to speak, for that could be the only reason she wouldn't be starting ahead. "...I'm afraid for Cloud, Vincent. All that work I did to help him back in the Lifestream...I think it's coming undone." She looked up at him tearfully. "He's not going to ever be the same, is he?"

Vincent didn't answer. He didn't see the need to. He thought that she would be done, but she kept talking.

"...Do you think he blames me for not telling him something was wrong with him sooner, before Sephiroth told him anything?" She asked. Vincent was silent for a moment, until he realized he'd have to answer her eventually. He sighed, then said: "Perhaps not while he had some reason, but who knows now. Jenova may be picking at that wound, so that it may be easier for him to kill you if the need should ever arise..." Tifa looked at him, shocked. "...You really aren't good at comforting people, are you?" She asked. "I don't like to instill false hope in people." Vincent replied shortly.

"Well, we'd better get going. Cid's probably getting impatient." Tifa said, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand quickly. Vincent nodded, and they left the room.

"Have you ever had a headache so bad it felt like something was trying to claw it's way out of your skull?" Cloud asked Tifa, who had sat next to him after the Highwind was in the air. "...No, I can't say that I have." She replied. "Well that's what this one feels like." Cloud said, tapping the side of his head with a finger. "And I can't stop coughing...when it gets really bad, I cough up blood. It's always too cold..." He sighed, then looked over at Tifa. "I can't remember things. For example, most of the conversation we just had before leaving...what's wrong with me, Tifa?"

Tifa bit her lip and looked at the floor, kicking her feet slightly. "...It's Jenova, Cloud. She's--" "Shhh! Quiet!" Cloud said suddenly, perking up and looking around nervously. "Can't you hear them?" "...Hear who?" Tifa asked, looking over at Cloud curiously. Nobody else in the Highwind was talking aside from them, so she didn't know who he was talking about. "...They're telling me...I can't...tell them to shut up, Tifa, please..." He said, leaning forward and putting his face in his hands. "They won't stop..."

"...It's alright, Cloud." She said slowly, putting a hand on his shoulder. She looked around the room and saw that everyone was looking at him curiously. "No it's not. They're laughing...she's laughing..." He started to shiver slightly. "I'm right here, Cloud. There's nobody here. No one is talking to you, or laughing." Tifa said soothingly. "You can't hear them...but they're there." Cloud replied, then said in a voice so low she could barely hear him "I have to get it." "Get _what?_" Tifa asked exasperatedly. Cloud looked up at her, a crooked smile on his face. "He he...the White Materia. The Holy summon." He chuckled. "She must have it...so that they can't interfere..." Suddenly his eyes narrowed, and he looked at Tifa suspiciously. "You aren't one of them, are you?" He asked slowly. "The ones who almost killed her before..."

Tifa didn't say anything for a moment, then suddenly smacked Cloud across the face as hard as she could. His head snapped back from the blow, and he brought a hand up to his cheek, looking at her with a mixture of anger and confusion. "Ouch! That hurt! What the hell is wrong with you!" He asked, swiftly returning to normal. Tifa shrugged. "You had a fly on your face." She replied.

"Hey! We're here!" Cid called, and the airship landed smoothly next to the ancient city. Everyone slowly filed out, Tifa and Vincent last once again. Cloud had charged forward, most likely to get away from Tifa. "...Did you hear what he said?" Tifa asked Vincent. "I'm sure everyone heard what he said." Vincent replied coolly. "So, we're going to take the White Materia, and keep it somewhere safe?" Tifa asked. Vincent shrugged. "We'll just see when we get there." And with that he quickened his pace, abruptly ending the conversation.

After about thirty minutes of walking, they came up to the large conch shell house with the lake were Aeris lay near it. Cloud strode forward eagerly, hardly paying attention to his surroundings. As he passed the lake, however, something clicked in the back of his head. There was something here...something he should remember...something important. He slowed down, but didn't completely stop, and looked into the water. He couldn't see down into the bottom, however, even though the lake was crystal clear. He quickly shrugged off the feeling and continued on into the house. Soon after the others caught up with him, not noticing (or just ignoring) his odd behavior.

Cloud led them down the large spiral staircase, made of some smooth clear material that couldn't be identified. Soon the platform where Aeris had prayed for Holy was in sight.

_Aeris. That was it._ Cloud thought suddenly. _She died here._

_But that doesn't matter..._

_Nothing matters..._

_I have to get it...she must have it...to stop them..._

"Hey Cloud! What's the hold up?" Reno yelled from somewhere behind him, and he realized that he was holding up the whole line of people coming down the stairs behind them. He quickly stepped out of the doorway, and practically ran over to the stepping stones that led to the alter, where he slowed to a halt. He looked into the water here, unable to see anything. But it was down there. He just had to find it.

The others were still making their way down the stairs, and Cloud stepped forward towards the water--

_What am I doing?_ A small voice in the back of his head asked suddenly. _This isn't right! I shouldn't be doing this! It may take away the only chance we have, if Jenova summons Meteor again!_

_And why would that be a bad thing?_

_It wouldn't._

_She needs the power of the planet_

_If you help you will be rewarded._

_Now, hurry and get the White Materia._

_No! Wait! Aeris...wouldn't have wanted this, would she? You...you killed Aeris. It's your fault._

_Me? You are the one who didn't do anything. You stood and watched as she got killed. You could have prevented it, but you didn't. You aren't the knight in shining armor, as you may believe. You are a failed experiment, who by all rights shouldn't be alive right now._

_But..._

_She needs the planet's Lifestream._

_Stop questioning._

_Do it now._

_No..._

_No? Ha!_

_As if you have a choice._

"Cloud." Tifa said suddenly, making the voices die down for a moment. He opened his eyes and realized he was standing at the very edge of the water. For a second he contemplated jumping in, but Tifa pulled him back. "Is it down there?" Vincent asked. Cloud hesitated, then nodded slowly. Vincent looked around at everyone. "Somebody has to jump in and get it." He remarked.

_No! They can't take it! You have to get it!_

"No." Cloud said firmly, yanking out of Tifa's grasp. "I'll do it." Tifa glanced back at the group, who were hanging back. Vincent shook his head. Tifa turned back to Cloud, and said "Are you sure? I mean--" "I said _I'll do it._" Cloud growled, walking back towards the water and jumping in before anyone could stop him. Tifa ran to the edge and looked over worriedly, watching Cloud disappear under the water.

_It's dark. I can't see it. _

_Just a little farther..._

_I have to...get it...she..._

Cloud felt his hands hit sand. He felt around underwater for a moment before his hand brushed something smooth. He quickly grabbed it, surprised by it's warmth, and kicked up to the surface. He broke the surface with a gasp, air rushing into his lungs, and he slowly paddled to the edge of the water. Tifa pulled him up when he got close enough, and he fell to the floor, coughing and shaking.

"D...did I...get it?" He asked when he could finally breath correctly. "Yes..." Tifa replied, reaching down and trying to take the materia from him. As soon as she touched it, however, he yanked away and stood up shakily. "This isn't for you...no...it's for...her...because you want to stop her...but you can't...if she has it." He said. "Cloud, you have to give it to me. If you don't, Jenova will have more of an advantage then she already does, so please..." Tifa pleaded. Cloud stood there for a moment, then his face suddenly broke out into a grin. "Heh. No, Tifa, you can't have it. And I know damn well that you won't try to take it by force either. Humans are such weak creatures...we're ruled by emotions, which clouds our judgment when we have to make fundamental decisions." He tossed the materia into the air, then caught it again. "But you see, that's where mot--Jenova is superior." Cloud said, jumping up the stepping stones onto the platform where Aeris had died.

"...What was that?" Tifa asked suddenly. Cloud turned to her, the grin still fixed on his face. "What was what?" He asked boredly. "You...almost said 'mother', didn't you?" Tifa said, horrified. The smile on Cloud's face faltered. "What? No, Jenova isn't my mother. She's a superior being." He said slowly. "Then _why_ did you almost say it?" Tifa pressed. "Do you know who you sound like?" Cloud shrugged. "A minor slip up." "You're avoiding the question." Tifa growled, jumping up the stepping stones onto the platform. "Oh, so now you're coming to try to persuade me to give up the Holy summon, correct?" Cloud asked, shaking his head. "Your sense of timing is horrible. And..." He reached over his shoulder, unsheathing the Ultima Weapon and holding it in front of him, not more then and inch away from Tifa's chest. "...You shouldn't have trusted me with a weapon."

"So yer jus gonna go crawlin' on yer hands an' knees back ta the monster who killed Aeris?" Barret asked suddenly. "...The death of...the Centra girl...was unavoidable." Cloud spat out with some difficulty, shaking his head and coughing. Tifa looked at the sword held in front of her warily, then, while Cloud was distracted, lightly shoved the sword aside and jumped forward, tackling him to the ground. Caught by surprise, the materia went flying out of his hand, arcing through the air and landing with a small 'ping!' right next to Reno's foot, and he quickly picked it up.

Cloud looked at Reno in shock, then turned to look at Tifa, who still had him pinned to the ground. His eyes narrowed. "_You..._" He hissed, his hand reaching out and quickly finding the hilt of his sword, which he had dropped in the fall. Before she could react, he slashed her from her right side up to her left shoulder. She stared at him, wide-eyed, and tried to speak, but fell to the side, freeing Cloud. Cloud stood up slowly and looked down at Tifa, blood starting to pool around her. He looked at the sword in his hand, wet with blood, then back at Tifa.

He dropped the sword and fell to his knees. "N-no...Tifa...what did I...?" He choked out, reaching out and brushing her hair out of her face gently. He was relieved to notice that her chest was rising and falling, barely. He could hear the others shouting, and rushing forward, but he didn't care. He reached into her pocket and pulled out the small green restore materia, concentrating on it as hard as he could. Green light danced around Tifa, and the wound slowly closed, but she didn't open her eyes. By this time everyone was on the platform, and Cloud was shoved roughly aside and everyone tried to see if Tifa was okay.

Barret turned around and grabbed Cloud, hauling him up by his collar. "If she's dead, or dies, I swear, I'll kill ya myself ya bastard!" He roared, slamming Cloud's back against the stone railing. "Do ya understand?" Cloud just hung there, not offering any resistance. He didn't care anymore. Barret slugged him in the stomach with his gun arm, knocking the wind out of him, before Yuffie tugged on his vest. "Hey! Knock it off Barret!" She exclaimed. "He couldn't help it!" "COULDN'T HELP IT!" Barret bellowed, dropping Cloud and turning to face Yuffie. "YA MEAN TA TELL ME THAT HE 'COULDN'T HELP' ATTACKIN' TIFA, WHO WAS ONLY TRYIN' TA HELP 'IM!" "Hey, all of you, shut the #$ up!" Cid snapped, helping Rude pick up the unconscious Tifa. "I concur. We can discuss this when we get back to the Highwind." Vincent said stoically. Barret grumbled and turned back to were he had dropped Cloud, then jumped and shouted in surprise.

Cloud was gone.

_Author's notes: Was that inner monologue confusing? I'll give you a hint: only one of those voices was actually Jenova. She was the one who said "If you help you will be rewarded", "Me? You are the one who didn't do anything. You stood and watched as she got killed. You could have prevented it, but you didn't. You aren't the knight in shining armor, as you may believe. You are a failed experiment, who by all rights shouldn't be alive right now.", "As if you have a choice.", and "Just a little farther...". Keke, now who is everyone else (aside from Cloud, and it was obvious which one was him)? Hopefully that shall be explained in later Chapters. :3_


	9. Chapter 8: A distraction?

_Author's Note: Hello again! Here's another Chapter of the increasingly long fic, 'How Did It Come To This?'. x3_

_Thanks to Bruna Aquino_ _and Ariam for the favorites, Bruna Aquino once again for the review, and, as always, all the other awesome people who read my fic:) _

_A lot of people have been asking about pairings, and all I can say is this: Keep reading:D_

_Please remember to review, I love reading what you have to say about my fic, plus it helps motivate me. :)_

_Sorry about taking so long to update. Harry Potter ate my brain. x3_

_See you again next Chapter!_

_-Chocobo_

Chapter Eight: A Distraction?

"Sir!" A rushed looking scientist exclaimed, bursting through the office door, panting as if he'd just run a long way. "What is it, Bennings?" The man asked boredly, setting down his pen with a sigh, and looking at Bennings over his glasses coldly. "W-well, sir...our lab, in Nibelhiem..." Bennings began, shuffling his feet and looking at the floor. "It...sir, it has been destroyed. Apparently a the townspeople got together and burned Shinra Mansion to the ground. There's nothing left, sir. Nothing could have been done."

The man stared at him in silence, and Bennings began to fidget, uncomfortable under the close scrutiny. "...Is that all?" The man stated finally, his voice level. "Well...uh...yes, sir." Bennings said uncertainly. "So...you're not upset?" "Bennings, we have labs all across the continents, it's not a large problem if _one_ is destroyed." The man said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Bennings nodded, then said hesitantly "...So I'm not fired?" "No...you're not _fired._" The man replied. Bennings smiled gratefully and turned towards the door. "...However." The man said, and Bennings stopped. The man stood up and walked around the desk, his hands clasped behind his back. "...I'm short on test subjects." Bennings turned around with a contemplative frown. "Do you want me to find some more sir?" He asked.

"That won't be necessary. I already have you here." The man said, a grin spreading across his face.

Cloud was dimly aware that it was raining.

He was completely soaked. He didn't know whether he'd been walking minutes or hours, nor did he really care. His feet just kept plodding along the path on autopilot, his thoughts elsewhere.

_Murderer!_

_You killed her._

_No I didn't! She was still alive when I left..._

_Fool. Still has some false hope._

_You killed her!_

_Murderer!_

"SHUT UP!" Cloud bellowed, clamping his hands over his ears.

_What's the matter? You killed plenty of people on your merry little quest to save the world. Why would one girl matter?_

Cloud ignored them, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. His mind was more clear then it had been for days, but it didn't seem to improve the situation. With his new found mental clarity he noticed that he was wet, cold, hungry, tired, and that his insides felt like they were being ripped apart by a pack of rabid radioactive ferrets. And to top it all off, he now had time to brood over what he'd done.

He'd been rambling on insanely about getting something for Jenova, then tried to steal the White Materia. He had almost been successful. When he failed, he attacked Tifa.

_She's alive...she's alive...she's alive..._ He thought over and over.

But something was bothering him. The White Materia. The Holy Summon...he was recalling something that Aeris had told him about it.

_"Only a survivor of the Centra, like me, can do it."_

_Only a survivor of the Centra..._ He thought. _If the Centra are the only ones who can summon Holy, then why would Jenova be concerned with it?_

Of course. A distraction from whatever it was she was really doing. He had never told the others much about the dream he had just before Aeris died, so they wouldn't have known that only a Centra could use Holy. Thus the distraction. He had to tell them...

_But...I might end up attacking one of them again..._ He thought uncertainly. He paused for a moment, in deep thought, then turned around and started back the way he had come.

"I can't see or hear any sign of Cloud in this rain." Red growled, his fur plastered to his sides from the rain, and his tail swishing irritably. Vincent said nothing, his eyes scanning the area for any clue as to which direction Cloud was headed. Barret had been uncharacteristically silent, but nobody seemed to be in the mood for conversation anyway.

"Look." Barret said suddenly, pointing to the ground. Red and Vincent followed his gaze, and saw a muddy footprint that was rapidly disappearing as the rain poured down with more ferocity then before. "That's Cloud's foot print, all right!" Red exclaimed, bounding ahead. Barret wasn't far behind, and Vincent followed at a slower pace.

"Dammit, why am I here? I'm a hired assassin, not a freakin' babysitter." Tifa heard someone mutter as she slowly regained consciousness, aware of a dull ache across her chest. She recognized the voice as Elena's. "Just because I'm a woman." She continued, unaware of Tifa, who had opened her eyes. Elena was sitting near a window, looking out and frowning. Tifa let out a small cough and Elena jumped. "Oh. Hello." She said when she saw that Tifa was awake, then started staring out the window once more. Tifa looked around and realized they were in the shell house that had beds in it for some inexplicable reason.

"Where is everyone?" Tifa asked. Elena let out a snort. "Rude, Cid, and _Mr_. _Macho_ are out patrolling." Elena growled. "...Mr. Macho?" Tifa asked. "Reno. The bastard left me here to watch you, since he thinks women are incapable of protecting themselves." Elena replied. "And everyone else...?" Tifa pressed. "Out looking for Cloud. He didn't stick around after gutting you like a fish." Elena said.

"Wha...?" Tifa began, then it all came rushing back to her. Cloud pointing his sword at her. Tackling a distracted Cloud to the ground. Cloud, enraged, picking up his sword and slashing her from her right side up to her left shoulder. Then...nothing. She shivered, and put her face in her hands. Elena, immediately realizing how insensitive her comment had been, tried to change the subject. "So, how are you feeling? We had to keep using your Restore materia on you until you looked like you'd be okay." She stated in what she hoped was a conversational voice.

Tifa didn't answer. Elena shifted in her chair nervously and continued looking out the window. After a long, awkward silence Tifa spoke: "What should I do?" Elena looked at her curiously. "About what?" She asked. "...About Cloud. I'm...scared of him. He could snap at any time. But I can't just abandon him." Tifa said slowly. She honestly didn't know why she was telling Elena all of this. She never really liked the woman too much.

"...Well..." Elena began, thinking carefully before she spoke. "It all comes down to how devoted you are to him, I suppose. And don't give me that look, everyone knows you like him, hell, you probably even love him." Elena said as Tifa looked at her, shocked. "It's not exactly a secret. Anyway, I could tell he was really upset once he realized what he had done, but as you said, he could snap at any moment. What's to stop him from doing it again?...You should just do what you think feels right." Elena finished, looking back out the window as the rain fell in sheets.

Tifa stared at her for a moment, then thought _Maybe she's not so bad after all._

"Thanks, Elena." She said. Elena smiled. "No problem."

Cloud's breathing was becoming increasingly labored. It felt like someone had grabbed his chest and was squeezing all the air out of it, slowly. He became dizzy, and stumbled a bit before falling down to the ground on all fours and vomiting blood. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ He thought faintly, dragging himself back to his feet with a great effort, his blurry vision having nothing to do with the pouring rain.

He took a few more steps forward, then it hit him. Wave after wave of mind numbing pain, each worse then the last. He fell down once more, half of his face in the mud. He couldn't even cry out, it felt as if he was paralyzed. He could feel his consciousness slipping...

"Cloud!" Someone barked. "...Tifa...?" He called out quietly before passing out.

"Cloud!" Red barked again, nudging him with his nose. He didn't move. Barret was the next one on the scene. He glanced down at Cloud, then let out a snort and turned away. "Barret! What's the matter with you! Help me!" Red growled, glaring at Barret, who grumbled something along the lines of "What he deserves." Vincent showed up then, and, seeing Cloud, strode forward and said "Barret, I don't care what you think, help me get him back to the shell house." Barret snorted once again in disapproval, but cooperated nonetheless.

"#$! Ya scared the shit out of me!" Cid exclaimed as Barret, Red, and Vincent appeared carrying the unconscious Cloud. "What happened to him?" Reno asked curiously. "Could this wait until we get inside?" Red asked. Reno gave a curt nod and opened the door, then following them inside.

"...So then Heidegger falls right down the stairs! No, he didn't fall, he _rolled!_" Elena giggled, and she and Tifa broke out into laughter, until Tifa turned her head and saw Cloud being carried in, unconscious and covered in mud. "What happened!" She squeaked, her eyes widening. "We found him lying on the ground." Red said, shaking the water off his coat and splashing everyone within six feet of him.

Vincent and Barret set him down on the empty bed, and looking more closely at him, Vincent said quietly "He's bleeding from his ears and nose." "WHAT!" Tifa exclaimed, leaping out of bed and wincing as her newly healed wound twinged with pain. Sure enough, he was. Not in a steady stream, but bleeding nonetheless. "Where's the Restore materia? Tifa exclaimed, looking around frantically. "Calm down." Vincent said soothingly. "He's not going to die."

"Yes, but I'm sure it's not healthy to be bleeding from the ears and nose! Isn't that supposed to be a sign of head trauma?" Tifa asked, smiling weakly in thanks as Elena handed her the Restore materia. "In this case, no. His body is just trying to reject the Jenova cells once more as they multiply and try to forcibly meld with his own genetic structure, which is making him very sick." Vincent replied grimly.

"I've been meaning to ask...just _how_ do you know all this?" Tifa asked, focusing on the Restore materia. "...You don't honestly think I spent thirty years sleeping in that box, do you?" Vincent asked, the slightest trace of amusement in his voice. "Once in a while I'd get up and read the books and files that were left carelessly in the Mansion's basement." He paused, then continued, all amusement gone from his voice. "All of the Sephiroth clones went through the same process, only they accepted the cells immediately, so there was much less pain and time involved."

Cloud let out a cough, and stirred. Tifa slipped the Restore materia into her pocket and leaned forward, watching as Cloud opened his eyes groggily, wincing and saying "My head..." "Are you okay?" She asked. Cloud looked at her, and stared at her as if trying to make his eyes focus, then nodded. "Yeah..." He paused, and then his eyes widened. "Tifa! You're alive!" He exclaimed happily, pulling her into a tight hug. "They said you were dead..."

Tifa pulled away from him, looking shocked, but happy. "Yes, they tend to talk alot." She said vaguely. Cloud's happiness evaporated as quickly as it had come, and he looked away. "I'm sorry Tifa..." He said quietly. "I promise I'll leave, but there was something I had to tell you..." "You don't have to leave!" Tifa exclaimed, but Cloud, who was in deep thought, ignored her. "...I remember now. The White Materia, it..." He trailed off suddenly, and his face went blank. "...Cloud?" Tifa asked. "Midgar." Cloud responded, his voice emotionless. "We have to go to Midgar."

_Author's Notes: Why does this Chapter seem short? Maybe all of my Chapters are just starting to seem short to me now..._


	10. Chapter 9: The Murky Depths of Inquiry

Author's Note:

_Hiya Everyone, this is Hchan speaking. As you all have read, the very kind and generous Chocobo has allowed me to partake in this awesome on going fic of hers. I can't say how truly honored I am to have been asked, and I really look forward towards writing alongside her. I hope you all enjoy this fic just as Chocobo and I have enjoyed writing it for you all. Thank Chocobo for it all though, it was her idea. . Anyway, enough of my rambling. On with Chapter Nine_!

¤ **Hchan**.

Chapter Nine: The Murky Depths of Inquiry.

Without much realization or even thought for that matter, the Avalanche members were back on board the Highwind. It wasn't that thoughts hadn't been executed throughout the minds of Avalanche, it was the fact that when strange or even bizarre mentionings had been spoken from one of their kin, they didn't think. They just acted. Being the savior of the Planet once, they were use to abnormalities and freakish encounters. It was all in the line of what they did. Which is why when Cloud spoke the eerie and almost chilling words of going back to Midgar, from out of nowhere in the blue, that his fellow comrades and partners didn't question his sanity. They simply nodded and got back aboard their flying transportation vehicle, Cid entering the new coordinates into his beauty and setting off into the newly appointed direction.

Despite the lack of questioning, there was no doubt, a high tension that hung severely over the atmosphere. It seemed to stifle and blanket everyone's moods, keeping them all either in their own rooms or in a far corner near nobody else. Only one person seemed to be excluded from the ideal mood set and that was Reno. He seemed all too happy to carry conversations on with the nearest thing around him. As long as there were bars and booze, he was easily handled. It was everyone else that was loose cannons, especially Cloud, Tifa, and Barret. The brunette beauty had been sitting nervously in her room earlier, pacing back and forth unconsciously as the Highwind engine made the machine flooring rumble lowly beneath her careless and distracted footsteps. Cloud had attacked her and left a nasty wound in her side earlier on. He had attacked her. Ran his keen metallic Buster Sword blade along that one side of her body. She couldn't process it. And yet, even after he had come back, she told him it was okay. He didn't have to leave and put distance between them. This made Tifa feel better, this unannounced feeling of thankfulness. Cloud bruised her and it was okay with her. As long as he stayed. Because Tifa knew that it wasn't Cloud who had done it. It was the Jenova inside him, cursing his actions with venom tipped course.

With this familiar growing feeling of optimism and hope, the self reassured Tifa left her room. Spikey locks were held firmly within the sweaty grasp of concentrated hands. Eyes held shut with his hands cradling his head, Cloud was enduring the poison torture of the multiplied thoughts streaming endlessly throughout his brain. Gentle green pools staring up at him, the ever so cheerful smile turning up as they fixed themselves upon his form. And then gorgeous locks of Holy, swaying forward with decay from forced momentum from another. The innocent green aura closing over, the smile never fading, the piercing slice of death embedded into a being so pure.

Aeris.

_No._

Not again.

Fingers tightened against the straying blond, wrenching the straining hair nerves. He wasn't going to go through this overly trodden guilt for the hundredth time this day. Before having any more power to try and actually get ahold of his spontaneous thought process, Cloud's paining mind was thrust into another world of awaiting demons, which were just waiting to taunt him. The powerful, stronger, commanding voice within himself telling him to obtain the White Materia. His childhood friend fighting to get him to hand it over. The blood dramatically soaking her white belly shirt moving agonizingly slow as though in a terrible nightmare. Her expression of shock and surprise.

Stop it.

Her eyes clearly convoying the deafening message.

No…

How Tifa must have felt at that moment. Her own childhood buddy, gutting her without an hesitance at all.

"STOP IT!"

The last note of rage was far from being kept inside the mind's jailed universe of Hell, and was carried onward towards the living realm of Fate. Cloud's eyes were ablaze; looking wildly around the room and prowling for anything that looked even remotely like Jenova. His breathing exhaled heavily coming out in frustrated and pent up gasps. Unexpectedly, the door to his room threw itself open and before it stood a very worried Tifa.

"Cloud..?" Her voice was laced with caution and extreme reserve, her mouth only finding one appropriate word to suit what she was trying to say while still getting the point across.

Handsome blues took her sudden appearance and rather short question in quickly. He battled to come up with a reasonable answer and instead let the current odd situation step into play in order to formulate his reply.

"…Tifa?" Having spoke the unsettling words of the unknown, Cloud immediately realized what he had spit out and went to retort with the correct version.

"I mean-"

But he was cut off with a gruff shout from Cid that they had reached their mysterious destination of Midgar.  
"We're finally &$ here!"

Cloud arose from where he had been sitting on his bed and nodded towards Tifa. Tifa and Cloud joined everyone else on the main deck of the Highwind in order to consult just what they were doing in Midgar now. Cloud quickly became the center of attention and topic, as it was he who had led them to this veer out of nowhere. Calmly, Cloud addressed the rest of Avalanche with what was on his mind.

"We came to Midgar because…" His voice faltered, unable to try and explain what he expected them to accept and believe. Many expectant pools were set on him, waiting for him to spill the rest out. Reno made a sweeping motion with his hand, his eyebrows lifting with impatience.  
"Well? Let's hear it Fern-head."

Cloud sneered at the name call but decided to continue with the rest, as it was the only way out of the situation.  
"…I have a very strong feeling as well as visual that we have something here that's going to help us out with this current crisis."

"What in hell? So yer sayin' yous dun even have a clue where we're actually goin' to go in Midgar? Spikey-haired jackass, do you even know where to look for this '_hidden thing_'?" Barret made both his index and middle fingers do a mocking gesture of the quotation signs, his face twisting in approaching anger.

"I know where we have to go." Cloud's voice was dipped in cool iron, sentencing that he didn't want receive any more insults or arguing.

"We can start with the Shinra remains." He said as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

And the rest of Avalanche and the Turk's mouths dropped like it were the most complex.


	11. Chapter 10: Shinra HQ

_Author's Notes: Sorry about taking so long to update! ; My internet got cut off for no reason, and I didn't feel like writing for a while. Not only that, but I decided to totally re-write the ending of it...and then got stuck. x3 _

_Anyway, here is your finished product: Chapter Ten:)_

Chapter Ten: Shinra HQ.

"...What?" Barret asked, too stunned to come up with a better retort.

Cloud, however, wasn't listening, and walked briskly forward, stopping just at the door and turning around. "Just one more thing..." He said slowly, unbuckling the sword from his back and tossing it to the floor unceremoniously. "...I don't want a repeat of our last adventure." Cloud said quietly. Everyone was silent for a moment, then:

"The materia too."

Cloud gave a start and turned to Vincent, who's eyes were piercing him with their crimson stare. "Oh...right, of course." Cloud replied, pulling the orbs out of the slots in the heavy metal bangle on his left arm and handing them over hesitantly. Before Vincent could take them, however, Yuffie jumped forward and snatched them with a grin.

"I'll be able to take care of these." She said sweetly, dropping them into a pouch at her belt before anyone could protest. Vincent sighed but said nothing.

"Well...let's go." Cloud said, turning on his heel and striding out of the door. Everyone followed hesitantly, Barret grumbling audibly about the situation. Tifa darted up front with Cloud, and looked over at him curiously. He didn't seem to have that far away look he got when Jenova was talking to him, but he didn't appear entirely normal either.

"...Cloud, are you feeling alright?" She asked suddenly.

"Huh?...Yes. I'm fine." Cloud replied absently, looking over at her as if just noticing her. The two were silent for a few seconds before Cloud added "What was it you wanted to speak to me about?" Tifa jumped, then winced. She had been hoping that all the recent excitement had pushed her visit back on the Highwind from his mind.

"W-well...I..." Tifa faltered, avoiding Cloud's curious gaze. "...I wanted to just...check up on you."

_Feh. Excuses. Don't let the brunette con artist distract you from your goal here. You _need_ to do this._

Cloud took the sudden mental intrusion in stride, and didn't show any visible sign that he had heard. "Well, I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, Tifa. After all, I'm not the child you grew up with anymore." Cloud replied coolly. Tifa looked up at him confusedly, surprised by his sudden coldness.

"I know that Cloud." She said slowly. "But...I worry about you. More and more every day. I don't know if you can see it, but you're getting worse all the time. This isn't you. Jenova is slowly but surely drowning you out...I can't even recognize you anymore! Can't! Can't you TELL!" Tifa finished, her voice growing louder and louder with each word she spoke, until she finally stopped and took a deep breath, looking up at Cloud tearfully. For a long time he didn't respond, until finally he looked at her sidelong, a grin slowly creeping across his face. Tifa shivered involuntarily at the sight of it. There wasn't any of Cloud's usual cheerfulness or mirth in the grin. It was more like a wolf grinning at it's prey.

"...But don't _you_ see Tifa? This _is_ the real me." Cloud said in a near whisper, so that only Tifa could hear. Tifa looked up at him blankly, at a loss for words. "Aeris was the only one who could see it. Yes, she could tell...she could tell that it was all just a ruse...I was acting out the wrong part in the wrong play." Cloud barked out a laugh before speeding up his pace, forcing Tifa to fall back with the rest of the group and contemplate what had just been said to her.

_It has to stop, and soon._ She thought, watching Cloud as he wove his way through the rubble in a direct path to the old torn apart Shinra building.

The day wore steadily on as everyone traveled through the ruins of upper plate and tried to make their way to the Shinra building. It was hard going, with places where pits just suddenly appeared, sheer cliffs that you couldn't see until you got right up on them, and the fact that the rubble its self was unstable and would often crumble under their feet made the trip a slow one. Not to mention Yuffie's whining.

"My feet huuuuuuuuurt!" Yuffie moaned for the twentieth time.

"YES! WE KNOW YOUR FEET HURT! NOW SHUT THE HELL UP!" Cid roared finally, his patience snapping after the long day of traveling and whining.

"Quiet!" Vincent hissed, shooting Yuffie and Cid glares. "We don't know what could be prowling around here. It's best if we don't let every monster in Midgar know our location."

"It'll be a damn blessing if some #$& monsters show up." Cid growled. "One of them might eat Yuffie."

In response to this, Yuffie merely stuck her tongue out at him and started bounding off through the rubble again. For all her complaining about sore feet, she was doing better then any of them.

"Ahh!" She exclaimed as she tripped over something. She turned around with a frown on her face, and saw a trapdoor was sticking out of the ground, disguised very well with the surroundings. In fact, she wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't tripped over it. "Hey! Guys!" She called out, her voice taking on a serious tone.

"What? Have your legs become so warn out from walking that you can't go any further?" Reno asked dryly. He, too, had grown weary with Yuffie's commentary.

"No! I found a trapdoor!" Yuffie shot back. "But maybe I shouldn't have told you ungrateful jerks. You just don't appreciate real talent when you see it." She sniffed, crossing her arms and turning her face away from them in a dismissive way.

"Out of the way Yuffie." Cloud said, leaping down next to her and examining the rusty old door closely. He brushed some of the rust flakes away, to reveal the Shinra Electric Power Company logo imprinted into the metal. "It looks like you've found a shortcut." He said, straightening up at last.

"Of course I did. I _am_ Yuffie Kisaragi, the daughter of Lord Godo and the heir to Wutai." Yuffie said with a smug smile.

Cloud didn't say anything in response to this proclamation of her noble heritage, instead he reached down and yanked open the door, making a cloud of dust fly up. He had to take a step back as the stale air of the old passageway escaped. It was pitch black, with an old metal ladder that looked ready to fall off of the wall leading down into oblivion.

"I know what that is!" Reno exclaimed suddenly. "That's one of the old maintenance entrances from way back when Shinra started out. Most of them are sealed up now. It should take you directly under Shinra HQ."

Nanaki stepped forward cautiously and looked down into the hole. "Well, I don't see, hear, or smell anything out of the ordinary." He said with a flick of his tail. "However, I lack hands, so I cannot go down."

There was a pause, then Cloud said slowly "You, Cid, and Yuffie will go back to the Highwind. I'll go down the tunnel, and the rest of you can go ahead to the Shinra building and take a look around."

Immediately there were protests.

"WHAT!" Cid bellowed. "I have to travel all the way back to the Highwind with the whiny hyper kid! Are you out of your #$! mind!"

"You aren't going down there alone!" Tifa cried out.

"I'm not leavin' yer spiky ass alone for two seconds!" Barret growled.

"Alright. Calm down." Cloud said coolly. "Cid, quit whining and go. Vincent and the Turks can go ahead to the Shinra building. Barret and Tifa can come with me, if they insist on it." He shot Tifa a glare, then before anyone could protest further, he grabbed onto the ladder and started down into the tunnel.

Cid stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, before letting loose with a very colorful string of curses and stomping off, Red following behind in silent amusement. Yuffie, after hesitating a moment, also followed Cid as he stomped back they way they had come.

Reno stood with his hands on his hips, a frown fixed on his face. "I'm going to have to get used to this whole teamwork thing..." He muttered before turning to Rude, who just shrugged. "...I need a drink." He sighed finally, turning to Vincent who had remained silent. "I hear you used to be a Turk, eh?"

Vincent gave a curt nod in reply.

Reno stared at him a moment longer, expecting him to speak, but Vincent said nothing. With a shrug he turned to his fellow Turks and said "Well, let's go." And with that they started weaving through the obstacle course that was the remains of the upper plate.

The metal ladder seemed to have no end to it, and Tifa cursed the rust that made it hard to keep her footing on the metal and left her with the feeling that she was going to fall to her death. She could only imagine how nervous Barret must be, since the steps creaked and groaned under just her weight, and Barret was considerably larger then she was.

Just when she thought she couldn't stand to climb any farther down, her feet hit the ground and she gratefully let go of the ladder. It was still pitch black, the only sign that light existed came from where they had entered, which from the bottom of the ladder looked like a small white circle, and did nothing to lift the gloom.

"Cloud?" She called, taking a blind step forward. He was below her on the ladder, so he couldn't have gone far. Suddenly light flooded the tunnel and she threw her arm over her eyes instinctively. When she lowered it, she saw with a start that Cloud was right next to her, and had hit a switch on the wall to turn on the track lights that lined the ceiling. He turned and started down the tunnel without acknowledging Tifa's presence in the least. Tifa hung back, staring after him, a small frown on her face. She could hear Barret's loud steps on the ladder and it wasn't long before he was on the ground too.

"Where's chocobo hair?" He asked. Tifa pointed in the direction that Cloud had wandered off in, and Barret started off that way immediately. Tifa wasn't too far behind, and they soon caught up with Cloud, who had stopped at a fork in the tunnel.

"Which way do we go?" Tifa asked quietly. Cloud looked from the right to the left one, in deep thought.

_Left._

"Left." Cloud said finally, turning and starting down the tunnel without any further hesitation. Tifa and Barret followed silently. There where many other forks in the road, and Cloud would stop for a moment before suddenly deciding which way to go and leading them down that path, until, after at least an hour of walking, they came across a door. Unfortunately...

"It's locked!" Barret growled, glaring at the door. "All this walkin' an' we come 'cross a door that we can't open!"

Cloud looked around carefully, then, spotting their means of entrance, said "There." and pointed off to the left. Tifa and Barret turned.

It was an air vent.

"...No. Noooooo way." Barret said, taking a step back. "I-I ain't goin' in there! It's way too small for me!"

"Fine. Then you can stay here." Cloud said flatly, removing the grate and hauling himself up without another word.

Barret gave Tifa a pleading look, but she shrugged apologetically and followed Cloud through the vent. Barret hesitated a moment before cursing and scrambling into the vent after them.

"This is a bad idea..." Barret grumbled.

"Quit whining Barret. Just because you're scared..." Tifa taunted.

"Scared! Me? Ha!" Barret snorted, before Cloud looked over his shoulder and gave both of them a whithering look.

"Be quiet. Both of you. There are people below us." He said sternly. Barret huffed in response, but said nothing. They continued in silence for a few moments, until they passed over a grate that revealed people bustling around underneath them. Cloud passed over it without a second glance, as did Tifa, but Barret stopped and looked down for a moment.

"There's a lot of people down there...just where are we?" He asked, looking up. Cloud had just turned to reply when a loud 'Crreeeeeaaaak!' rent the air. No one had any time to react before the grate under Barret collapsed, sending all of them tumbling down to the ground below in a tangled heap.

"Smooth Barret. Real smooth." Tifa groaned.

"I told ya it was a bad idea!" He snapped back.

Cloud ignored them and had just started to get to his feet when he felt the muzzle of a gun press against the back of his neck.

"Don't move! Put your hands on your head!" The guard behind Cloud barked.

Cloud slowly started to raise his hands in the air, then rolled to the side and reached into his pocket. A light green aura surrounded him and a bolt of lightening suddenly streaked down from the ceiling, frying the guard. Luckily there wasn't anyone else around aside from some terrified scientists.

"I thought ya left yer materia with Vincent." Barret growled as he got to his feet.

"Obviously not all of it." Cloud said calmly.

"I knew we couldn't trust ya--" Barret began.

"Just shut up Barret! Shut. Up." Tifa hissed, pulling herself up at last. "Now is _not_ the time to start this." She looked up at Cloud and her eyes widened. The words "Cloud, look out--" had barely escaped her lips when something hit the back of Cloud's head. Hard.

He blinked once, twice, then fell forward, unconscious.

"The place sure has gone downhill." Reno said as he, the Turks, and Vincent tramped through the twisted ruins of the once-proud Shinra HQ.

"Look on the bright side. At least we weren't in there." Elena pointed out.

Reno shrugged and continued on in uncharacteristic silence.

After about ten minutes of walking, Reno stopped and turned to the rest of the group with a frown. "Just _what_ exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" He asked.

"Anything out of the ordinary." Vincent said stoically.

"Pfft. This whole place is out of the ordinary." Reno growled, sitting down on a chunk of cement. "I don't see why blondie thought we should go here."

"...To get us out of the way." Rude said.

Vincent seemed to perk up at this. "...You may be right." He said slowly, surprised he hadn't guessed it earlier. "And if that's the case, then we need to go back."

"...All the way back to the _tunnel?_" Reno asked exasperatedly.

"Yes. As quickly as possible." Vincent said.

"...Figures." Reno spat, turning around. "Well, let's get goin', then."


End file.
